Missing Dreams
by the butt-loving cynic
Summary: Alice has gone missing, and it's up to outsider Ivy to find her! However, as she spends more time in Wonderland, will she ignore her duty in the Game as Alice's potential savior, due to her growing affections for the male cast-and one in particular?...
1. Entering Wonderland

**This will be my first Heart no Kuni no Alice fanfic, and as a result, the first chapter is going to be a tad dry and short compared to most of my stories. Sorry about that! But as the story goes on, it'll get better. I hope. I've read all the manga they have in English, but sadly I haven't played the game yet. Therefore…it's gonna follow the manga. (No duh.) Hope you enjoy, and I worked very hard on this!**

_Chapter One_

"Nightmare…what are you proposing? Bring another outsider?"

"Yes. It may be our only way to find her."

"But—!"

"Do you want to find Alice or not?"

"I do…but this…"

"Peter. Listen to me. You love Alice dearly, don't you? Just like the rest of us who live in Wonderland. If we bring another outsider in, one who may find Alice for us, we can continue the Game. Besides, this outsider won't truly be a part of the Game. You don't have to worry about that."

"If it's to find my Alice dear…then so be it. Bring another outsider hear."

"Good. That's the last one of the Ones With Duties that I needed the okay from. When I bring the new outsider, I will let you all know."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Nightmare. Don't give the new outsider too much of a scare."

"You'd be the one to frighten her, Peter. I'm off to find the new outsider. Good bye, Peter."

**X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X**

Sixteen-year-old Ivy Cainz walked into her local library, holding in her arms a copy of _Alice in Wonderland._ It was probably around the twentieth time she had read it, and she was thinking to herself that she should really buy it instead of always borrowing it from the library. Smiling to her librarian as she slid it onto the counter, Amber headed straight into the classics section where books like _War of the Worlds, The Jungle Book, Pride and Prejudice, _and other books of that genre lie. Ivy was a sophomore in high school, and a complete and total book nerd. And, she was secretly in love with the Japanese comics known as manga, and their animated TV show counterparts called anime. However, she kept that under her hat at all times for fear of ridicule.

The classics section was a couple book shelves away from the manga section. Inching her head out of the shelf, Ivy spotted a cover that almost took her breath away: _Alice in the Country of Hearts._ Looking inconspicuous, she slowly slid into the manga section and picked up the first volume. Leafing through the book, Ivy's eyes bulged. "This…looks…awesome!" She squealed quietly. Grabbing the next four volumes, she ran to the check out section and handed the librarian her card.

"My, my, Ivy! Five of these backwards comic books today?" The librarian teased as she scanned the card's barcode under the check out machine.

Ivy flushed. "Please don't tell anyone! It's like _Alice in Wonderland,_ and you know how much I love that book."

"Yes, that I do." The librarian grinned and handed Ivy her card and the manga back. "Do you want a bag so none of your friends see the titles?"

"You know me too well," Ivy laughed nervously. "Yes, please." Ivy thanked her librarian as she stuffed the manga series into a cloth bag, and walked out the door. Ivy lived in a medium-sized city in the Midwest, and her house was only a few blocks away from the library. Hence the warm relationship she had with most of the personnel that worked at the library. It was a Saturday afternoon, and Ivy was done with all her homework. She had nothing to do. So, she decided to hide out in her special spot at the local park and read her new manga.

Ivy was around 5"3 and weighed around 130 pounds. She had wavy black hair that reached her waist when it was down, and bright blue eyes. Today she was wearing a pair of grey jeans with some holes in the knees and scuffs at the bottom, an aquamarine colored t-shirt with black swirling patterns through -out it, and black sneakers. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and swished from side to side as she walked.

"Today's gonna be a great day. I can feel it!" Ivy said, stretching her arms over her head as she walked on the sidewalk. "Got me some new manga…it has something to do with _Alice in Wonderland_…and from what I skimmed, there's lots of hot guys in it. Well, in manga standards, of course." She grinned to herself.

When she got to the park, Ivy found that it was pretty much deserted. Still, not wanting any of her classmates or friends to see her reading the manga she had brought, she made her way across the park to the tall pine tree that had been around ever since she was a little kid. When Ivy had first climbed it, she had found a small hole in the bottom of the trunk that she could fit through. And with the way the tree's limbs hung down to the ground, she could hide there easily. Even now at sixteen she could still fit in the little cavern in the trunk. Ivy inched her way into the hole in the trunk and, using the light from outside, began to read _Alice in the County of Hearts_.

Within an hour, Ivy had read the first volume and was completely and utterly hooked. The whole concept just screamed "AMAZING!" to her, and the art-style was her type of manga. It made her laugh, and Ivy found herself falling for the male cast of the manga. They were all pretty damn sexy, even if they had major quirks.

"Gah! I wish I was Alice! I'd actually acknowledge the fact that I was surrounded by hot guys who were falling in love with me instead of just getting annoyed by it!" Ivy gushed, blushing furiously at the thought of being surrounded by the bishounen. Picking up volume two, Ivy began to read with vigor, flipping through the pages quickly and sighing in wonder.

"I really wish I was in this Wonderland," She sighed. "It's so much better than the original! Even though it's a tad dangerous, the men are hot. And I'm in desperate need of hot men. Stupid me and my totally avergeness. I never will get a date." Ivy set the book down and pulled up her legs, resting her chin on her knees. She blew a strand of her hair away from her face as she stared outside at the sweeping branches of the pine tree. "I wish I was in Wonderland. Or, at least, not as average as I am. Bigger boobs would be nice, that's for sure." She blushed a bit when she said that as she felt her slightly flat chest. "Plus, I could probably play this 'Game' thing much better than Alice. After all, I took judo lessons until I was thirteen."

"You wish to be a part of the Game?" A male voice suddenly asked out of nowhere.

Startled, Ivy leapt up and banged her head on the ceiling of the tree. "OW!" She rubbed her head and looked around. "Who the hell was that?"

"I repeat: You wish to be a part of the Game?" The voice asked once more.

"Okay…maybe I've been inhaling tree sap fumes for too long." Ivy muttered to herself. It sounded as if the voice was coming from right next to her, which was impossible because Ivy herself barely fit in the tree's crevice.

"I warn you: if you become a part of the Game, you can't return home until your role is over. And you may die. Do you still wish to be a part of the Game?" The voice insisted.

Just to give the weird phenomena an answer, Ivy shrugged and said "Sure, what the hell. I'm probably dreaming right now, so you know what? I'm just going to go with this. I want to be a part of this Game of yours. Sign me up for the premium account, baby!"

"Watch yourself…Ivy Cainz." The voice whispered into Ivy's ear. And, before she ahd any time to react, a hole opened up beneath her and she fell through, screaming at the top of her lungs. Clocks seemed to fly by her and Ivy fell, and she twisted into the black oblivion. It felt like she was falling for an eternity, when the same voice that had asked her if she wanted to be a part of the "Game" said "Do you want to continue falling forever or something?"

"HELL NO!" Ivy shrieked. "MAKE IT STOP!"

"You can stop it yourself. Just think that you don't want to fall anymore, and you won't."

"WHAT? That sounds completely ridiculous!"

"Just do it."

Seeing no other choice, Ivy closed her eyes and thought fiercely, _I want to stop falling now._

And just like that, she did.

Ivy landed on her butt and sprawled out on the ground, moaning and rubbing her sore rear end. "Ugh…what happened…?" She muttered to herself as she took in her surroundings. It appeared that she had landed in some sort of Victorian-era city street that was deserted. Struggling to get up, Ivy called out, "HEY! Where am I? What just happened? Is anyone there?"

As the words flew from her mouth, a figure suddenly materialized in front of her. It was a man with long silver hair that reached his chin, an eye patch over his eye, and wearing an incredibly flashy outfit that consisted mostly of grey, gold, and purple. He was floating in front of her. Smiling, the man spread his arms out widely and announced, "Welcome to Wonderland, Ivy Cainz. I am Nightmare." The man bowed, and Ivy almost threw up. Nightmare was the character based off of the caterpillar from A_lice in the County of Hearts!_

_This can't be happening…_Ivy insisted to herself, gaping in astonishment as she looked around. _I'm merely sleeping! This is a dream!_

"Before we continue, please drink this." Nightmare held out his hand to Ivy, and a small glass vial filled with a clear fluid rested in his palm. On the top was a clover symbol.

Recognizing it somewhat, Ivy backed away and held up her arms for protection. "Oh, hell no! I know what that is!"

"You said you wanted to be a part of the Game. This is your first step in it. If you don't drink it, you'll die." Nightmare said. "Drink it. I'd hate to be the one responsible for your untimely death." Before Ivy could protest, Nightmare uncapped the vial and grabbed her shoulders, shoving the glass bottle against her lips.

Ivy—not being able to do anything else—gagged and swallowed the fluid as it ran down her throat. Nightmare held her fast as she tried to cough it back up, but it didn't work. The odd liquid ad tasted of her favorite food, it seemed—a pleasant blend of strawberries, chocolate, and kiwi. Falling to the ground, Ivy whispered, "What did you just do?"

Nightmare merely smiled and said, "Welcome to the Game, Ivy Cainz. For the duration of your playing time, you have a very special role that shouldn't be too difficult for an outsider such as yourself."

"And just what is my so-called 'role'?" Ivy demanded, feeling hot tears begin to well up in her eyes. She was hoping all of this was imply a dream.

"To put it simply…to find the Game's previous challenger: Alice Liddell."

And despite the strength Ivy wanted to show off at not being affected by the odd turn of events that had just occurred in her teenage life, Ivy felt her eyes roll into the back of her head as she passed out, shadows enveloping her consciousness and sending her into blissful oblivion.

**And that was chapter one! Sorry it was so short. Next chapter will be longer! Like I said earlier, this is my first HnKnA fanfic and it will follow the manga, although I do have some knowledge of the video game. Please review and tell me if I need to make any changes, and thank you very much for reading my first attempt at a story for this fandom!**


	2. Explanations and Introductions

**Yes, made it to chapter two. This will be a little longer, and I have decided to dedicate this whole story to my friends on Shelfari who love HnKnA as dearly as I do. You guys know who you are. :D Now I'll shut up and begin the actual story. **

_Chapter Two_

_Ugh…my head hurts…what did I do last night? All I remember is reading that manga that was based on __Alice in Wonderland__…And then I—_

_Oh my God._

_I'm in Wonderland._

Ivy's eyes shot open and she looked around her surroundings. She appeared to be in a bed with a damp wash cloth over her forehead, and the room she was in was dark. The only light came through the curtains that were draped over the window above her head. Ivy attempted to get up, only to find that she got dizzy as soon as she tried to move. Ivy fell back into the bed, and groaned, "Oh no…I got kidnapped by the Nightmare guy I bet…like Peter did to Alice…"

Blushing slightly, she muttered, "Well, at least he didn't kiss me to get me to swallow that potion crap."

"Well, looks like you're finally up!" Ivy made a small high-pitched noise in her throat as the door opened and Nightmare walked in, looking utterly ominous in the shadows of the room. Grinning warmly, Nightmare held out his hand to her. "We got off on the wrong start. My name is Nightmare Gottschalk, the lord of the Tower of Clover. It's nice to meet you, Ivy Cainz."

"How the crap do you know my name?" Ivy demanded, refusing to shake Nightmare's out-stretched hand. "And why am I…in Wonderland?"

"Simple: you wished to be a member in our Game here in Wonderland. I heard your wishes, and obliged. Are you angry?" Nightmare asked, cocking his head to the side. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

"I…" Ivy gulped. "I guess I DID say that I wanted to be here…but I wasn't really serious! I want to go home! If I didn't know any better, I'd say this whole thing was just a dream I'm having…but I'm not stupid like Alice. So I know this is real."

Nightmare's face darkened at Ivy's mention of the name "Alice." He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed that Ivy was in, crossing his arms and looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry. But we needed someone to help us. To help us find her…Alice."

"W-what?"

Nightmare took a deep breath. "A little while ago, Alice suddenly disappeared. I can't even find her when I attempt to enter whatever dreams she may be having. All it is…is a dark dimension. So, the Role Holders decided it would be best to get another outsider to participate in the Game, one who could help us get our Alice back. Even though Peter was a bit skeptical at first, because he was afraid that a new outsider would have all of us forget about Alice and fall in love with you. But the new outsider isn't supposed to have that affect, because Alice is still the one this Game is meant for. Anyway, you're that outsider, Ivy." He turned his face towards her, and smiled sadly. "You're the first person that I found who would fit in best. You just have that quality."

"All of this is real, then." Ivy murmured, squeezing a fistful of bed sheets in her hand. "I'm really here…But wait, where am I exactly in Wonderland? And why am I in this bed?"

"You passed out from shock when I told you where you were." Nightmare explained. "And you're in the Tower of Clover. By the way, your bag is over there." He pointed to the floor, and Ivy saw her bag that held her Alice in the Country of Hearts manga. "I knew your world believes we are nothing but those books, and a computer game also, but we are as real as you."

"You know what computers are?"

"Of course. I am a dream demon. I can go into the dreams of the people here in Wonderland, and your world too."

"Oh." Ivy blinked. "I'm still trying to take this all in. How am I supposed to find Alice, if you guys can't even find her? And what if this is all part of your stupid 'Game' thing? Alice's disappearance. And you guys just have to find her yourselves. Why need an outsider to find her?"

"I believe that Alice's disappearance wasn't originally supposed to happen. But some entity has rearranged the plot of the Game, and has caused her to vanish. That much I do know." Nightmare said. "Whoever—or whatever—this being is, they are truly powerful. I suggest you be careful when you begin your search for Alice."

"But I don't want to find Alice!" Ivy yelled angrily. "If I'm here in Wonderland, I'm going to do whatever the hell I want."

Nightmare stared at her. _Well, I guess all outsiders who come here have one thing in common: their fire and stubborn attitude. _He sighed and smiled slightly, patting Ivy on the head. "I'm sorry. But in Wonderland, not even outsiders can refuse their role. You can't go home until it is finished. If you cooperate, you can get home quickly."

"But I don't even know where to start," Ivy whispered. "I'm not some blood hound, or a detective! I'm just a normal American girl who likes to read and listen to music! I get average grades, I'm not amazing in physical activities, and I'm not even that pretty. What can I do?"

"In Wonderland, no one is average." Nightmare said mysteriously. He got up and walked over to the window, opening the curtains and allowing sunlight to filter into the dark room. Ivy shielded her eyes from the sudden brightness. When she looked back up, Nightmare was gone. Sighing, she surveyed the room now that it was bathed in sunlight. It was of average size, with a large book shelf and a dresser. Buy the bedside was a desk with a lamp. All in all, it was pretty plain.

Testing her legs, Ivy found that she could get up. Sliding out of the bed, Ivy walked over to the window and looked outside. She appeared to be a few stories up in the air, which confirmed that she probably was in the Tower of Clover. Below her were a lot of small houses and in the distance was a thick forest. Ivy picked up the bag that contained her manga and began to leaf through it. Speed-reading, she got all the way to volume five, and stopped. At the end of volume five, Alice had been hanging out with Blood Dupre and Vivaldi in the Hatter Mansion's rose garden, after the annual ball Vivaldi had hosted was over. And as Alice was about to leave the rose garden, she had felt her skirt become heavier. She had sifted through her skirt and found that the vial that had once held the potion that Peter White had made her drink was almost full, which meant she could return home soon.

"So…maybe she just left to go home?" Ivy though out loud to herself. "But no. She would have said goodbye to everyone. Argh, this would be so much easier if they came out with volume six! I could probably understand things better!" **(A/N: As of February 28, chapter 31 was posted of Alice in the Country of Hearts, and it is the beginning to volume six. I'm basing this story off of what we know from volumes 1 through 5 at this point. I don't know if any of you reading this have read chapter 31 yet, but go read it. You'll explode from either anger or excitement. I won't tell you why.)**

Sighing in defeat, Ivy rested her head against a wall. "What do I do? I should probably look around at my new home, I guess. And find Nightmare. I wish that had made the Tower of Clover bigger in the manga. I guess it's more of a setting in the games." Opening the door that Nightmare had come through before cautiously, Ivy scanned the hallway. It was a long corridor with many other doors. Candles and flower vases studded the walls, and the carpet was a plush material with vivid purple and gold patterns. "Nightmare likes purple and gold, I guess." Ivy noted with a grin. "He color-codes everything!" She stepped out into the hallway.

"Oh, Miss? Do you need help finding where you need to go?" Ivy spun around to find a maid with no face other than a mouth looking at her. She wore a silver maid dress, and has black curly hair. On the dress were a bunch of gold clover symbols.

_I forgot…only the "Role-holders" have faces. She's just a back ground character. _Ivy nodded. "Yeah…can you tell me where to find Nightmare? He just left me alone, and I finally got up to go look for him."

"Lord Nightmare is most likely to be in his quarters. He doesn't like to move around much, unless it is in the dream realm. He gets sick easily." The maid explained. "Come with me, I can guide you to his room."

"Thank you." Ivy said with gratitude. On the inside, she was roiling with anger though._ How dare that smug bastard just up and leave me alone like that? Especially after that cryptic last sentence…Ass hole. I don't care if he's kind of cute, Nightmare is a jerk. But I guess he beats the Blood Dupre fellow. _Ivy sighed dejectedly as the maid lead her down the long hallway.

"Miss, this is where Lord Nightmare has his quarters." The maid said when they got to a doorway. She bowed. "I hope you find everything is to your satisfaction while in Wonderland." She turned to leave.

"Thank you," Ivy said, smiling at the maid. "You're really nice."

"I am simply doing my job, Miss. But thank you for the compliment." The maid's blank face flushed a little, and she bowed once more. "Good day, Miss."

Ivy took a deep breath and knocked on Nightmare's door. When no one answered, she growled under her breath and opened it up. The door swung open easily, and she stepped into a dark room that smelled of aromatherapy candles, the kind that helps for illnesses and the like. Adjusting to the darkness, Ivy spotted a bed in the corner of the room with a lump in it. Marching over to it, she said, "Nightmare, I wasn't done talking to you! Why did you just leave like that? Being all mysterious doesn't help with your placement on my list of people I like, you know. You really pissed me off. Are you even listening?"

There was no answer.

"Ugh, you're impossible!" Ivy yanked off the blankets that were concealing the lump on the bed. "Just because you get sick all the time doesn't mean you can just—whoa…" Ivy reeled back as she stared at the figure in the bed, feeling her face go red with embarrassment.

Nightmare was dead asleep on the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of tight pants that passed as pajama bottoms and an unbuttoned shirt that showed off his chest. He was lying on his back, and snoring peacefully. But he looked pale and worn out. When Ivy had cried out, Nightmare opened his eye that was covered by the eye patch lazily. Yawning and stretching his arms out, he got into a sitting position and looked at Ivy's pink face. "Oh…how'd you get in here, Ivy?"

"I-I-I-I-I…" Ivy stammered her words as Nightmare lazily scratched his head. "Put some clothes on, dammit!"

Nightmare seemed to just realize that he wasn't in the best apparel to be addressing an angry teenage girl who had just learned that a manga was actually real and that she was chosen to be a part of it. He pulled the covers back over his body and said in a voice that sounded like it did NOT belong in a man's body, "Oh~! You were peeping on me, weren't you, Ivy~?"

"THAT WAS SO FREAKING WRONG, I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO RATE IT!" Ivy yelled. She grabbed Nightmare by his collar and began to shake him. With each shake, she said a word. Eventually, her sentence ended up something like this: "Why the hell did you leave? I was still really confused! Hell, I still am! And then you just go and sleep like this, and don't even bother to lock the door? You're as bad as Peter!"

And just as Ivy was shaking him, the dream demon chose that lovely moment to open his mouth and puke up dark red blood all over the outsider girl and his bed sheets.

"Ah—ah—ah—ah—…" Ivy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

"Sorry about that…I cough up blood when I get either over-excited or physically drained." Nightmare rasped, wiping his mouth.

"Oh my God, I am soooo sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen! Here, let me help!" Ivy took the end of her shirt and started to wipe Nightmare's face off. "I was just being pissy because today is not really my day. Please don't hate me for this!"

"It's fine, Ivy. I guess you didn't really know." Nightmare said. He waved off her concern. "I deal with this all the time, so it's all right. What did you need to talk about?"

"Uh…well, where am I supposed to go?" Ivy asked. "To start looking for Alice, I mean. Can you please give me a hint?"

"Hm…I suggest you start by asking around Wonderland. I will take you to the Clock Tower, Amusement Park, Hatter Mansion, and Heart Castle tomorrow." Nightmare said thoughtfully. "I should probably introduce everyone to you."

"All right." Ivy was silent for a moment. "I really am sorry, Nightmare. I didn't mean to cause you distress."

Nightmare grinned, and Ivy felt something in her chest give a start. It took her a second or two to realize it was her heart thumping wildly at the look Nightmare was giving her. Why was he having such an effect on her like this? Ivy never fell for anyone, much less a dream demon from Wonderland! "I told you, it's fine. Now…do you mind leaving my room so I can rest up? Tomorrow travelling from the Tower of Clover is going to really beat down on my physique, and I need all the rest I can get. Also, I need to introduce you and Gray—he's my attendant, I guess you could say. I have a feeling you two will get along great. Oh, and before you go to sleep, I suggest you read all of those books you brought from your world. They'll be a great help. Goodnight!" He waved goodbye, not even bothering to clean up the rest of the blood that was on his bed sheets.

Ivy shrugged and walked outside of Nightmare's room. Before she had even closed the door behind her, however, she could hear him snoring already. She couldn't help but smile and laugh quietly. "I have a feeling that I may just learn to like it here," Ivy said to herself as she walked back to her room. Then, remembering what had happened to Alice upon her arrival in Wonderland at the Hatter Mansion, she frowned.

"If I can stay alive, that is."

**I hope that chapter was satisfactory! I tried to show a bit more of Ivy's character. She's normally understanding, but she can have a mean temper when she wants. And Ivy doesn't really appreciate nonsense. Her and the Twins will get along great, huh? *sarcasm, of course***

**Also, I tried to start the whole IvyXNightmare thing, but she WILL get some fuzzy feelings for most of the male Role Holders. Who wouldn't—they're all sexy and irresistible! But it will eventually be the Ivy and Nightmare pairing. The man needs more OC stories I believe!**

**Thank you for reading, and please review! Even if it's a flame, I'll still appreciate it.**


	3. Finding the First Clue

**Thank you sooo much to **_**Ink 'n' Echo**_** for reviewing this story! It meant a lot to me. If you guys absolutely adore HnKnA as much as I do, I highly suggest reading her amazing stories. X3 Okay, time for the actual story to start!**

Chapter 3

"Hey, you're Ivy, right?"

"…"

"Uh…you need to wake up now."

"…"

"HEY! WAKE UP, DAMMIT!"

The roaring voice in her ear finally woke Ivy up, and she did so with a startled gasp. She had been up late reading the rest of Alice in the Country of Hearts so she could understand Wonderland a bit better, and to get a more clear image of what might have happened to Alice. Rubbing her blurry eyes, Ivy yawned at slowly comprehended the figure standing in front of her. He had dark black hair and a pleasant handsome face, and was wearing an outfit similar to Nightmare's. On the man's neck was a small greenish-black tattoo if a lizard.

Ivy recognized him immediately-it was Gray Ringmarc. She remembered him from the small Alice in the Country of the Joker segment of the manga books she had read the night before.

"About time you woke up." Gray said somewhat annoyed. "Lord Nightmare instructed me to bring you to his quarters. I'm Gray Ringmarc, by the way." He bowed. Then with a grin, he gestured to Ivy's dishelmed appearance and said, "You might want to change into something more suitable. You'll most likely be meeting Queen Vivaldi today."

Ivy looked down at herself. She was wearing the same rumpled clothes she had come into Wonderland wearing, and her hair was quite messy. Ivy blushed and managed a high-pitched, "T-thank you for waking me up! I'll be ready pretty quick."

Gray nodded and walked out of her room, shutting the door. Ivy raced to the closet and was surprised to find it full of Wonderlandian-looking outfits. Taking a silvery dress similar to the one Alice wore, Ivy held it up to herself. "Wow…this is gorgeous!" It was like Alice's because it had the same design almost, except that it seemed to be very Nightmare fashion focused, with all the silver, gold, and purple. "Hope this works as fancy enough for Vivaldi…" Ivy muttered to herself as she threw her dirty clothes off and onto the floor, and slipped on the dress. It somehow fit perfectly. "I love Wonderland," She said happily. Next she found a brush a quickly brushed her unruly black hair, smoothing out the tangles and arranging it neatly in a ponytail. Ivy pulled on a pair of leather-like shoes that were almost like tennis shoes and heels joined together, and looked at herself in the mirror appraisingly.

"I'm not pretty at all, but at least no I'm somewhat presentable," Ivy told herself, satisfied with her appearance. She opened the door and walked out into the hallway where Gray was waiting. When he saw her coming out of her room, his eyes widened. "Wow, you clean up well," He said in a surprised voice.

Ivy placed her hands on her hips. "Was that your polite way of calling me ugly?"

Gray paled and stammered, "O-of course not! I wasn't trying to insult you! I-I…I just meant that you look very ravishing right now. There's something about your world that makes all you Outsiders…" Gray paused, thinking. "Pleasantly different and refreshing. That's what I meant to say."

Ivy found herself blushing as she took in the handsome Role-Holder's words. "I would have preferred it if you had just said I wasn't pretty. No use in lying, you know." Ivy muttered, nervously wringing her hands. She had never been called anything other than "average looking" so she had no clue how to respond to Gray's compliment.

"I wasn't lying, I swear!" Gray protested.

"Let's just forget about it, okay?" Ivy sighed. "Isn't Nightmare waiting for us?"

"Oh, you're right. We should get a move on." Gray's demeanor changed from flustered to all business like, and he stiffened his posture. "Let's get going then."

Ivy and Gray made their way to Nightmare's room, passing various servants ranging from the female maids to the male footmen. There was one thing they all had in common-they had no faces. But, after passing a few of them, Ivy was surprised and found that she could find slight distinguishing differences in each one. Ivy was proud of herself for noticing this. It made her feel like the "heroine", like Alice.

Finally they got to Nightmare's room, and Gray opened the door for Ivy. Stepping inside, she found that all the curtains were drawn shut like they had been the night before. Nightmare was standing at a mirror, adjusting his tie. In the darkened room, Ivy couldn't tell if he was as pale as he had been before, but he had a look on his face that showed he was dreading this trip to the other lands of Wonderland.

"Hey Nightmare!" Ivy greeted. Gray echoed her, only with more formality. Nightmare turned his attention away from his reflection and looked to Ivy and Gray. Like Gray, Nightmare's eyes widened a bit when they rested on Ivy.

"You look nice," He commented. Now that he was looking straight at her, Ivy could tell he was pale still. In fact he looked even paler. A spark of concern raced through-out her mind for Nightmare. Ivy blushed under his gaze but didn't say anything to the effect of his compliment.

"You look like you need about two weeks' worth of sleep." Ivy said.

Nightmare groaned, instantly looking deflated. "Ugh…I don't want to go to the Heart Castle and anywhere else…I'm weak enough as it is just staying here doing nothing. It gets completely worse when I travel. Thank whatever fates out there that I was charged with the role of 'Caterpillar'-at least that way I get a slight break inside dreams."

Gray's head throbbed with a small anger vein, and he seemed to rise many feet above the Lord of the Tower of Clover. "You'd get better if you would sit through just one short doctor's visit!" Gray yelled in annoyance.

Nightmare pursed his lips, his attitude instantly becoming like one of a petulant child. "I hate hospitals and doctors and needles…" He whined. "You know that, Gray! You're my top attendant, aren't you supposed to be willing to deal with my faults?"

"I USED to. Now it's gotten even worse! Honestly, a five year old is better than you, you big baby." Gray rolled his eyes as Nightmare's intensely hurt look. "Sometimes I think you do it just for attention!"

"You're a dream demon, and yet doctor's scare the crap out of you?" Ivy interrupted. "I do remember that now…" She thought for a bit, then nodded. "I agree with Gray. If you ate being sick all the time, just go to the doctor! Get over your fear. It's not too hard.""You all hate me, don't you?" Nightmare sniffed, suddenly in the corner of his room. He had his arms wrapped around his knees which were pulled up to his chin. Small clouds of anguish hovered around the incubus. "You want me to die under the hand of a cruel physician!"

"Baby." Gray muttered, having absolutely no sympathy for the depressed dream demon.

**OOOOOOO**

After Nightmare's small self-pity party, Ivy, Gray, and the Lord of the Tower of Clover headed for the other territories of Wonderland so Ivy could become acquainted with the rest of the Role-Holders and begin her search for Alice Liddell. Arming himself with a cloak to hide his sensitive skin from the sun, Nightmare slowly trudged behind Gray and Ivy. Every so often, as the group made their way through the forest that connected the Tower of Clover's territory with the rest of the areas, he would groan and stop for a drink of water.

"I hate traveling," He would mutter to himself, and Gray would snap back something along the lines of Nightmare's fear of doctors. Which, in turn, would cause Nightmare to glare at the Wonderlander associated with the role of the Lizard.

Ivy couldn't help laugh at the two's antics and odd way of showing their friendship for each other. They reminded her of two brothers at her school, and Ivy suddenly got an intense pang of homesickness. _Do they miss me?_ She wondered._ Has anyone even noticed I'm gone? Or has time magically stopped so that it's as if I will never be gone?_

These questions plagued her as she stepped over various types of foliage, the shadows of the tall trees making everything seem mottled and distorted as rays of sunshine at different angles shot through to the forest floor. Gray was expertly making his way through the woods as if he knew the path by heart, and when Ivy looked behind her, she saw that Nightmare was still slowly and grudgingly following.

"You all right, Nightmare?" Ivy asked, concern dripping from her voice.

Nightmare groaned as an answer.

"Don't worry, Lord Nightmare. We're almost there." Gray said from ahead of them. "About ten more minutes of travel."

"If it turns to night, can we stop?" Nightmare asked hopefully.

"No." Gray answered bluntly.

Nightmare's dejected, sorrowful face made Ivy smile, even though she was beginning to worry as he began to walk slower and slower. Finally, when he was about ten feet behind her, Ivy ran down to him and held out her arm. "Do you want me to help you?" She offered.

Nightmare blinked at her, his intensely white and strained face sweating. "Would you really help?" He asked childishly. When she nodded, Nightmare clasped Ivy's outstretched hand. Ivy resisted a shudder as their flesh made contact. Something about Nightmare…sparked something inside of Ivy. And frankly, she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. He hand felt cool and hot at the same time in hers, and she allowed the dream demon to lean on her shoulder as she assisted him. His surprisingly soft silver hair tickled the bare skin of her neck, and she could feel it each time he let out a labored breath.

Gray turned around and shook his head. "Don't spoil him, Ivy!" Gray warned. "I may be Lord Nightmare's attendant, but doing everything for him will just make him even more inclined NOT to get over his fear of doctors."

Nightmare stuck his tongue out at Gray and Ivy resisted a giggle. "You're just jealous because you want an Outsider to treat you with kindness like this." Nightmare teased.

Gray's face flushed a bright pink, and he spun around quickly, beginning to walk faster. "Told ya," Nightmare grinned at Ivy, and she laughed softly.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of walking with Nightmare in such close proximity to Ivy, the three made their way out of the forest and into what looked like a city similar to the one that Ivy had first been when she had appeared in Wonderland. Many faceless people were walking around, all chatting and busily hurrying on their way.

"Where to now?" Ivy asked as she led Nightmare to a bench so he could sit and rest.

"We go to Heart Castle so you can get Vivaldi's blessing. Knowing her personality, it would be best to meet with her first to avoid her anger." Gray shuddered as he thought about the Queen of Hearts' temper. Ivy also shuddered a bit as she reminisced about the original Alice in Wonderland's Queen of Hearts, even though from reading the manga she knew that Vivaldi had a much sweeter side.

"And then on to the Hatter Mansion." Nightmare piped up, sounding more alive now that he had time to rest. "That's where we all remember seeing Alice last. And I know for a fact that Blood Dupre did not do anything to her."

"Right." Gray nodded. "You ready, Lord Nightmare?" Nightmare nodded, and Ivy helped him back up. "And you, Ivy?" Gray asked. Ivy nodded, and the three started on their way to Heart Castle. They walked through the city of Wonderland briskly, arriving at Heart Castle in a short amount of time. At the gates, Gray handed the guards a slip of paper that evidently granted them entry to the palace. The two guards stared at Ivy as she walked by, and she heard them mumbling something incoherent to each other. When they arrived inside the gates, she was awestruck by the immense size of the beautiful palace in which Vivaldi resided in. The roses and other flowers were brimming with vibrant life, and all the colors seemed double their normal hues in Ivy's world. A figure with white hair, white rabbit ears, a red checkered coat, and grey dress pants bounded up to the group, looking bored.

"Nightmare, you have brought her at last? We had expected you here twice as fast." The man with rabbit ears said, adjusting his glasses. Ivy groaned inwardly when she recognized him as Peter White.

"Sorry, I was as quick as I could be." Nightmare answered.

"Very well. Her majesty have been awaiting your arrival most impatiently." Peter grimaced, and led the group inside the castle. Ivy was even more amazed by the decorative interior inside the castle. Seeing it on the black and white pages of a manga was one thing. In person, in full Technicolor, was something else. It was breath taking and beautiful, as was the Queen of Heart Castle herself when they arrived in the throne room. Vivaldi's soft pink skin shone rosily in the light of the chandelier above the throne she sat on, her black hair shining in a luxurious way that made Ivy extremely jealous. Her full red lips pouted sexily, and her red dress enhanced her gorgeous body. Ivy felt herself sighing in jealousy, and saw why Alice admired her so much.

"We have been waiting, Nightmare!" Vivaldi boomed, her melodious voice echoing in the sparse chamber of the throne room.

"Forgive me, Vivaldi. It wasn't easy finding the right Outsider. But here she is, miss Ivy Cainz." Nightmare coughed as he spoke, and Ivy felt the need to bow lowly in front of the illustrious ruler of Heart Castle.

Vivaldi perked up at Ivy's show of modesty. "Oh? This one has manners. We like her well enough already."

Gray and Nightmare smiled at Ivy, and she knew she had made the right decision.

Peter scoffed. "All that matters to me is that she can find my dear bride-to-be." He looked at Ivy harshly. "Have you yet began your search for my lovely Alice? If not, I will soon have to regard you with much malice."

"No, I'm sorry. I need to familiarize myself with Wonderland before I begin to look for Alice." Ivy was surprised at how confident and strong her voice sounded, which was completely different from the way she was feeling.

"You'd best be quick, lest you find yourself before my gun like a piece of paper above a burning wick."

"White! If you are going to be nothing but rude, you may excuse yourself from our presence." Vivaldi snapped. Peter glared at Ivy sulkingly, but marched out of the throne room and avoided anyone else's eyes. When he was gone, Vivaldi sighed and patted to a stool next to her throne. "We're sorry about that. He has been acting most moodily since Alice disappeared. Then again, all we Role-Holders have in some way or another. Come, Ivy Cainz. Sit by my side and let me have a look at you."

Ivy gulped and walked to the stool, slowly lowering herself down. Vivaldi gripped her chin and steered her face so that the queen could look at her. Vivaldi's sensual blue eyes inspected Ivy's face, and she nodded. "Yes. You definitely have the same look in your eyes. All Outsiders who come here have the same gaze in their eyes. We cannot explain it, but I distinguishes you from the denizens of Wonderland. Also, you are quite pleasant to look at. Just like Alice."

"I-I'm not pretty," Ivy found herself blurting. "I'm as ugly or average as a dirty sparrow!"

Vivaldi smiled and her eyes glittered in an odd way. "Perhaps that is how you view yourself…but aren't all birds, no matter how dirty their feathers may be, seem beautiful and elegant when they fly? It is because they are beautiful when they are at their best. "

Her words confused Ivy severely, and as she thought about them, the Queen of Hearts rose and clapped her hands merrily. "Nightmare! Gray! She has our utmost affection. We can tell she will be a great help and find Alice. You may take her to the next stop. Come back again at dusk sometime, Ivy. It is our most favorite time of the day. We shall have tea."

Ivy curtsied and leapt off the stool, then ran over to Nightmare and Gray. She was sweating from the terror of addressing Vivaldi. The two men lead her out of the throne room, and when they were away from any of the servants' views, Nightmare clapped Ivy on the back. "You did wonderfully!" He congratulated her, his eye that wasn't covered by the eye patch twinkling. "Vivaldi was really taken with you."

Ivy sighed dramatically, holding a closed fist against her chest. "Vivaldi's amazing though. She has so much of a presence! I wish I could be as beautiful as her, or even just have some of her personality."

Gray and Nightmare each rose their eyebrows at each other. "I don't see it," Gray shrugged. "She scares the shit out of me-that's my only view on Vivaldi."

"Odd. You and Alice both feel the same way about Vivaldi," Nightmare mused. "I guess she just has more of an effect on women or Outsiders," He looked at Ivy. "Either way, I agree with Gray; she terrifies me."

Before Ivy could answer, a man in a reddish brown coat with brown hair and a large sword strapped to his side walked up to them, a distant grin on his face. "Hey! You're the new Outsider, right? I'm Ace, the Knight of Hearts." Ace introduced himself. "I wanted to meet you so I could tell you something." He cocked his head cutely and, in true Ace-fashion, said, "I may have to kill you, but let's get to know each other, okay? Now, if you would excuse me, I'll be off to my room." He started to go one way, but then he seemed to realize something and headed the other way, saying under his breath, "Oh yeah, my room is THIS way…" When he was gone, Ivy spun to Nightmare and said bluntly, "Don't let Ace kill me please. I think he's an awesome character, but frankly he's insane."

"He's gotten even worse since Alice disappeared." Nightmare told her. "He gets lost more now, but sometimes he remembers where to go. Hey, at least he told you he was going to kill you instead of stalking you down and doing it without warning, right? You got a warning kind of!"

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, just what I want to be told." She sighed and stretched her arms about her head. "So, off to the Hatter Mansion now, right?""Correct." Gray nodded. "We will have to be extremely careful. The mafia of the Hatter Mansion are dangerous." Ivy said she would be cautious, and the three began to walk to the Hatter Mansion. When they arrived, Ivy was once again awestruck at the majestic way Wonderland denizens built their buildings. The Hatter Mansion was burgundy, blood red, and built like a Victorian-style manor. In short, it was beautiful. The flora around was also lush and full of life, like the vegetation of Heart Castle. At the gate were two small boyish figures standing guard-Ivy instantly knew they were the Bloody Twins, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. She couldn't tell which was which. The two brothers looked up at saw the three strangers approaching, and they stepped forward. "Halt!" the one in all blue commanded. "You'd better listen to my brother," The one in red added. Both held their scythes at the group.

"Hey, we're here on official business." Gray said, holding out the same piece of paper he had shown to the Heart Castle guards.

The Bloody Twins each looked at it, then each other, and smiled deviously. "We don't care about stupid pieces of paper," They said. Then they advanced forward, holding their scythes at length and pointing them at Gray and Nightmare.

Ivy stepped forward from behind the two men, crossing her arms and glaring at the Bloody Twins. "Don't you DARE try to hurt these two!" She yelled. An anger vein throbbed on her forehead. "It's freaking rude of you guys to try to attack us when we're just trying to talk to Blood Dupre!"

"Boss doesn't have to talk to you. He's probably busy today." A twin shrugged nonchalantly. The other grinned and laughed cutely. "We can take care of you guys for him!" And then both of the brothers ran at the female Outsider.

"Why you little-!" Ivy snarled and quickly dodged the twins' charge, relying on age-old martial arts training from when she was younger. She spun around and grabbed the boys' collars and yanked them up, shaking them and demanding, "Drop the weapons, you little brats!"

The brothers yelped and let their scythes drop from their hands, whimpering at the surprising show of strength Ivy had just shown. Her voice pissed and dangerous sounding, Ivy growled, "I'm TRYING to find your precious little Alice. So, let me see your boss, or else I'll show you what pressure points work the quickest when trying to knock someone unconscious."

Gray and Nightmare stared at her in utter shock. They had had no idea that Ivy knew how to apprehend someone like the Twins. Dee and Dum whimpered again, and Ivy let them go. They looked at each other, their large adorable eyes glistening with tears, then smiled and tackled Ivy down in a hug. "We love you, new nice lady!" Dee yelled happily. "You're the only one who can do that!" Dum shouted in her ear. The two brothers snuggled against Ivy's non-existent chest with glee.

Suddenly a figure with orange hair and pale brown rabbit ears atop his head came rushing from the gate to the Hatter Mansion, his battered scarf flowing in the breeze. "Oh Jesus, you guys just never learn!" Elliot March, the current Game's March Hare yelled angrily. "One of the servants told me that Nightmare and his bunch had come around for Blood, and you guys were messing with them. Why can't you learn, dammit?"

"Boss told us that other territory leaders were bad," Dee said, rubbing his cheek against Ivy's shoulder as he and his brother still glomped her and held her to the dusty ground.

"We were just following his orders, so don't yell at us, Pervy Rabbit!" Dum pointed out.

"I'M NOT A RABBIT!" Elliot exploded angrily.

"Then why do you have rabbit ears?" Ivy couldn't resist asking as she managed to push the twins off and stand up, dusting herself off.

"Shut the hell up! It's not my fault I was born with these-hey! The Outsider who will find Alice!" Elliot peered at Ivy. Then he looked down and said softly, "Please find her…it's been really lonely without her."

"I'll try my best," Ivy swore sincerely. Elliot gave Dee and Dum another yelling bout, and then lead Ivy, gray, and Nightmare into the Hatter Mansion. They got to Blood's room, and Elliot turned to the three he was leading.

"I have to warn you," He began. "Blood's been acting up lately. Ever since Alice disappeared, really. I guess in a way we all have, but Blood…he's been almost unbearable." Elliot gave an embarrassed grin. "Of course, I'll put up with it for my whole life if I have to. I owe Blood that much." He knocked on Blood's door and called, "Blood! Nightmare, Gray, and the new Outsider girl are here to see you."

"Hn. Send them in." A monotone male voice commanded from inside. Elliot opened the door and ushered the three inside, then left them alone in Blood's office, closing the door behind him as he went.

The first thing Ivy noticed about Blood's room was all the books. The room smelled like a library-she could smell the different perfumes of old, musty worn books and new, fresh pages of recently purchased volumes. The second thing she noticed was how neat and tidy the office was for a mafia boss's office. And the third was the incredibly good looking man sitting boredly at the desk in front of her, his raven-black hair tousled sexily underneath his hat and his eyes piercing into Ivy's almost. Other than Blood's presence in the room, Ivy thought she would be completely at home if she was allowed to be in the room alone forever and ever. All the books surrounding her called to her, asking her to open them up and immerse herself in the multiple pages. Ivy felt as if she would be in heaven if she was given the chance to be locked in the room for a day or two, all by herself.

"So…you're the girl who's going to find our missing Alice, are you?" Blood asked. His voice was snide and sarcastic.

"Yes. I guess I am." Ivy nodded, shifting uncomfortably. Nightmare placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and she felt her face go pink at his touch.

"And you've come here to introduce yourself to me, and get my permission to search my rose garden." Blood stated.

Ivy nodded again, and Nightmare coughed before saying, "Ivy has sworn that she will do everything she can to find Alice. She also swore that she wouldn't do anything to alter the Game."

"Hah! She already has, just with her presence here." Blood scoffed. He peered at Ivy, his dark eyes unreadable. "Perhaps, if she cannot find Alice, this girl will become Alice herself. The Game will surely do whatever if wants to, to see fit that it is completed."

"Me? Become…Alice?" Ivy was shocked. Could that even happen? She looked at Nightmare and gray for answers.

Nightmare looked sheepish. "That may happen, if you become too attached to Wonderland. There's only supposed to be one Outsider per Game, and Alice is the current Game's Outsider. To have two of them at once in Wonderland is risky, and if the one who arrived later starts to immerse their self into the Game too much, unpredictable things could happen." Nightmare explained.

"We didn't tell you…because we were afraid you would refuse to find Alice for us." Gray added. "But don't worry; as long as you simply do your job and find her, you won't be altered in anyway. But…" Gray's voice turned grave. "This is no normal circumstance, I believe. Even if you were to become too attached to Wonderland, I don't think you would turn into Alice. Something odd is going on, and the usual rules don't apply anymore."

"Do you even know what the Game is?" Blood asked Ivy harshly.

Ivy shook her head, feeling a bit dazed as this new information started to process inside her mind. "No, I really don't." She answered feebly.

Blood laughed mirthlessly. "Well, you want to know something? Neither do we. Not truly. All we know is that we must survive, and fight for that survival. When the Game ends, all will be revealed." He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. "You have my permission to search the garden," Blood muttered, his undeniably sexy face tight with anger. "Just get out of my sight as quickly as possible."

Sensing that his mood had become unpredictable, Nightmare and Gray each took one of Ivy's hands and lead her out of the mafia boss's room into the hallway. Shaking, Ivy whispered, "I might become Alice?"

Nightmare frowned and sighed. "Yes. But like Gray mentioned, everything has become warped. I don't believe you're in danger of that-the only thing you need to worry about while in Wonderland is its inhabitants, like Blood Dupre." He gave Ivy's cheek a tender pat, and she blushed furiously. "Are you angry with me for not telling you?"

Ivy sighed. "Frankly, I used up all my anger at you yesterday. I don't think I can really get mad at you anymore. Either that, or it will just build up slowly and then I'll explode at you."

"That's reassuring." Nightmare answered dryly.

"Hey, let's go check out the rose garden," Gray suggested to lighten the mood.

Ivy sighed. "Fine. I guess." They walked through the mansion to the rose garden, where all was calm and quiet. The roses were a bright bloody crimson, pale luscious pink, and pure undefiled white. Ivy found herself wandering around amongst the perfume of the flowers, searching for any sort of clue about Alice's current whereabouts. When she was staring intensely at a random spot in the garden, and unfamiliar voice seemed to echo from inside her mind. Startled, Ivy leapt up as it repeated itself, this time more urgent.

**Dig under the bush to your right.**

Ivy's eyes darted around and she looked to the right of her. Sure enough, there was a rose bush there. Getting on her hands and knees, not really caring if she got her dress dirty from the mud. She began to dig under the bush, ignoring Nightmare and Gray's confused questions when they saw her digging through the mud. Just beneath the surface, Ivy felt something smooth touch her fingers. She pulled the object from the dirt, and peered at it with curiosity. It was long and oblong in shape, its true appearance obscured by the mud caked on its surface. Ivy took some of the fabric of her dress and wiped the object off. When she had gotten most of the dirt off and could recognize it better, she gasped and almost dropped it. The object she had unearthened was a glass vial filled with a clear liquid and a cap with a heart on the top. It was the vial Peter White had forced Alice to drink from.

"Nightmare!" Ivy said sharply. "You may want to see this!'

Nightmare and Gray rushed over to Ivy, and when she held up her findings, they both gawked in amazement. "That's…" Nightmare took the vial from her hands, running a slender pale finger along its side. "It's Alice's medicine that will get her home! It's almost full…which means that even if she had wanted to go home, she couldn't have! Alice is somewhere in Wonderland. That's a start."

"How did you know how to look here for it?" Gray asked.

Ivy averted her eyes from his, looking down. "Um…I guess it was just an instinct?" She didn't know why, but for some reason Ivy didn't want anyone to know about that odd voice inside her head that had told her where to look. She wanted it to be a secret.

"We'll tell all the Role-Holders that Alice is still in Wonderland." Nightmare announced, pocketing the glass vial. "The question that remains is just WHERE in Wonderland she is. And...how is it that her vial is here, yet she isn't? We have a lot of thinking to do later. But in the mean time..." He clapped a hand on Ivy's shoulder. "Come on, it's time to show you the Amusement Park and the Clock Tower. Tonight I'll hold a dream conference of a sorts and let everyone know that we're off to a good start."

"Okay." Ivy swallowed the lump in her throat.

"You've done a great job already, Ivy." Gray congratulated her. "We're proud of you."

"Th-thanks." She stammered, somehow managing to lose herself in Gray's eyes for a few moments._ Okay, now the fact that all these guys are hot is starting to make me feel all annoyed and weird._ Ivy thought with embarrassment.

"Who's ready for a trip to the Amusement Park~?" Nightmare sang.

Gray moaned a bit. "I can't stand Gowland's violin playing…don I have to come?"

"If you want me to continue giving you a place to live, then yes. Ivy and I are sure as hell not suffering Gowland's horrendous 'music' by ourselves."

"Ugh…"

**OOOOOOO**

When Ivy, Nightmare, and Gray arrived in the bustling Amusement Park, they were greeted by Mary Gowland at the front of the territory. The "Duchess" of the park was accompanied by the magenta-haired, punk-looking, heavily colorful Cheshire Cat, Boris Airay. As always, Gowland had in his hands one of his many violins. Upon their arrival, Gowland smiled broadly and made the motions that he was going to start playing on his violin. Seeing this, Boris nonchalantly smacked the instrument of torture out of Gowland's hands and grinned innocently when the wanna-be musician glared at him through his glasses.

"Nightmare, Gray! How are ya?" Gowland asked chummily. He peered at Ivy and stuck his hand out. "You must be the little lady here to solve the case of our missing Alice!"

Ivy shook his outstretched hand. "Yeah, that's me. My name's Ivy Cainz."

"I'm Gowland, the owner of the Amusement Park." Gowland introduced himself.

Boris waved at Ivy, his pink cat ears and tail twitching cutely. "I'm Boris Airay." He said with a wink. Ivy felt a blush coming on._ GAH! Screw being surrounded by sexy guys, it's really frustrating and makes my heart race every moment of the day!_

"We're taking Ivy around and introducing her to everyone around." Nightmare explained. "Next up is the Clock Tower so she can meet Julius."

"Come by sometime when you're not busy. I'll show you the best rides!" Gowland proclaimed. Then as if by magic, another violin was in his hands, and he began to play a horrible melody, smiling in ecstasy and singing along out of tune.

Everyone around placed their hands over their ears as the screeching noise of the bow scraping against the strings pierced into their brains, and Ivy groaned, "Does he have a fucking endless supply or what?"

"Sadly yes," Boris answered over the racket. "You guys should probably get out of here before he starts playing, singing, AND dancing."

"Good point." Gray nodded. "Come on Lord Nightmare, Ivy."

As they began to bolt out of the Amusement Park, Ivy looked at Boris, who waved to her and smiled politely. "See you sometime soon!" He called.

Ivy and her small entourage made their way to the Clock Tower in a short amount of time, and when Nightmare knocked on the door, the Clock Maker residing within the building opened it up, looking tired as always. "Oh? Nightmare?" Julius Monrey's long purple hair was tied up in a loose ponytail as always, his overcoat strewn with clocks and various things related to the time-telling objects.

"Hello, Julius. I've brought Ivy, the Outsider who's going to find Alice, for a visit." Nightmare said as the three went inside the Clock Tower.

"Hello. I'm Julius Monrey." Julius said, walking back to his work table and picking up his tools. "You just had to come when I'm swamped with work, didn't you?""You're ALWAYS busy with work, Julius." Gray pointed out.

"Fair enough." Julius sniffed.

There was an awkward silence for a bit, when it suddenly got dark outside. Night time had fallen in Wonderland for the time being. When Ivy saw the day turn to night so quickly, she realized just how tired she was. Ivy yawned loudly, blinking slowly and sleepily.

"Julius, do you mind if we stay here for the night period? We need to rest up." Nightmare said, noticing Ivy's sudden exhuastion. He, too, looked sick and tired. Only Gray looked perky enough to stay awake for another time period.

Julius sighed and placed his tools down, careful not to break the clock he was working on. "I guess. There are extra rooms through that door." He pointed to a door. His voice got a bit deeper. "But don't go in Alice's room. It's the one that the door is closed."

"Got it." Nightmare nodded. He turned to Gray. "Will you take me to a room? I'm so exhausted I can barely move," He whined.

"No. It's your fault because you refuse to see a doctor to take care of your illness." Gray calmly responded.

"You're an asshole."

"Then why do you still have me being your attendant?"

"…Because no one else gets my humor?"

And Ivy found herself gently drifting off to sleep, listening to Gray and Nightmare's arguing as she sunk to the floor in an exhausted heap.

**Whew! That was a long chapter. Probably the longest there will.**

**So, what do YOU guys think happened to Alice? Will the male Role-Holders all somehow manage to fall in love with Ivy? Or will they just treat her as a friend?**

**Of course, there will be definite NightmareXIvy. ^_^**

**Thanks for reading! I'd appreciate 15 reviews by next chapter, but I realize that may be asking a bit too much…Oh well. I can deal with it.**


	4. The Next Move

**Sorry for kind of a late update; I've been quite busy with school. -_- Anyways, thank you sooo much for all the reviews/faves/various other things that makes an author extremely happy on here so far! It means a lot to me. Oh, and I've found out that I made Gray slightly OOC…sorry about that. All my knowledge of him is from that little "Joker no Kuni no Alice" excerpt in one of the Heart no Kuni no Alice mangas, because I don't have access to the otome game at all (even though I would KILL for it). So sorry about that, I promise I'll do my best to keep him more serious and/or stoic. ^_^ Now I'll shut up so you can actually read the story.**

_Chapter Four_

Ivy awoke the next morning to the pungent smell of tea. Her memories of the previous came rushing back at her and she gasped loudly, quickly sitting straight up in the bed she found herself mysteriously in. The room that surrounded her was plain and white with no sign of furniture other than the bed she lay in-it was even more modest and less decorated that the room Nightmare had given her in the Tower of Clover. The pale beige curtains were drawn over the windows, but even so by the few particles of light that escape through the slightly frayed seams, Ivy guessed it was day time once more in Wonderland.

She yawned, stretching her arms over her head and rubbing her eyes sleepily. The aroma of tea was getting stronger, and she was parched. Unlike most American teenagers, Ivy absolutely loved drinking tea. One of her "eccentric" habits was discerning one type of tea from another simply by smell, taste, or colorings and texture. "Ugh…after that hectic day yesterday, some nice calming tea sounds really good right now." Ivy murmured to herself, sliding out of the bed and walking over to the windows to open the curtains. Sunlight instantly flooded the dim room, making it seem more cheerful despite the simplicity of it. She looked outside, slightly astonished that she seemed to be several feet above the ground when she found that she was looking down at many houses and the like. Then she remembered that she was in the Clock Tower, the home of Julius Monrey.

"I wonder if Nightmare and Gray are up." Ivy mused to herself. "Oh, that's right, I think I passed out while they were arguing because I was so tired…I guess they brought me to a room."

And then Ivy took it upon herself to look down at her clothes just because she felt like it, which resulted in her getting a big surprise and screaming like a banshee cat that was being chased by a zombie dog.

"WHY THE HELL AM I WEARING A FLOUNCY-ASS NIGHTDRESS THAT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I'M A 1950'S HOOKER WITH A SET OF SLIGHTLY MODEST MORALS?"

Ivy threw open the door and ran through the hallway, down the set of stairs she found, and into Julius's workshop/basic living space, fuming angrily. Nightmare, Gray, and Julius were all sitting at a table, drinking tea and looking like they were having a conversation that mostly involved small talk. Nightmare looked up from his steaming cup of tea and smiled warmly, looking much better than he had when Ivy had last seen him the night before-he must of gotten enough sleep. Ivy was shocked when a huge wave of relief washed over her when she saw Nightmare's healthier condition, but at the moment she was too mad to really account that as anything.

With steam literally emitting from her ears, Ivy marched up to the three undeniably handsome male Role-Holders and demanded, "Why am I wearing this?" She pointed down to her nightgown, which was a pale shade of ivory that was too low-cut for her taste, covered in lace, and down to her ankles. All in all, the article of clothing DID sort of make Ivy look like a 1950's hooker with a set of very slightly modest morals.

"Oh, because you had no pajama-like things to wear, so I asked Julius to provide you with something." Nightmare explained, look perplexed as to why Ivy was so angry. "Is there something wrong with it?" Gray asked in a monotone voice, discreetly staring at Ivy's almost-exposed chest.

"Obviously!" Ivy yelled. "This thing almost shows my boobs! Not that I have any, but still…if I did, they'd be popping out for a visit right now! Which I bet you guys would all enjoy, so you probably did this on purpose-oh my God, I cannot believe my first conversation of the day with you guys is about my cleavage." Ivy's face turned a bright red, and she spun around drunkenly from the amount of embarrassment that she was feeling. "I'm just gonna go slam my head against the wall now…"

Julius coughed into his hand, no doubt feeling awkward about what had just taken place. "Ahem…Ivy, forgive me for giving you such an…unsatisfactory set of clothes. Nightmare said you wouldn't mind them."

As soon as the words left the Clock Maker's mouth, Ivy's anger level intensified, and it was all she could do from strangling Nightmare right then and there. As calmly as she could, Ivy asked, "And why did you tell Julius that, Nightmare?" Each syllable was halted with her effort to stay calm.

Nightmare gulped. "Because…I legitimately believed you liked that type of clothing. I saw the way you were staring longingly at Vivaldi's dress, and she wears these all the time. And don't say a word about me being a pervert and sneaking into her room at night to see her undress; I happen to know this because I am a dream demon, and I've been in Vivaldi's dreams before."

"Okay…I guess that seems reasonable. But…" An anger vein throbbed vividly on Ivy's forehead as she calmly said in a scary quiet tone, "How did I manage to get into this thing, hmm?"

This question brought Nightmare, Julius, and Gray to look at each other and blush deeply, and Gray cautiously replied, "We'd rather not talk about it, Ivy."

"Please don't tell me you guys technically violated me so you could put in me in pajamas," Ivy pleaded, squeezing her eyes shut. "I just woke up; I can't handle this much embarrassment first thing in the morning."

Julius sipped his cup of tea. "Well…I will say this: just be thankful you picked last night to be wearing a slip under that dress of yours."

"Oh my God…" Ivy whimpered, going to the corner in a dark cloud of emo-ness. "It's not fair; I've never had any sort of romantic adventures, and now three guys saw me in all my under-garment clad glory."

Nightmare patted Ivy on the back. "If it makes you feel better, both the dress you were wearing yesterday and the pajamas you're wearing right now look good on you." He said sincerely.

"I know you're trying to make me feel better, but please shut up before I stab all of you with one of Julius's wrenches."

Julius grimaced. "Remind me never to get on her bad side, Gray."

"Will do." Gray agreed.

"Hey…do me a favor and get me a cup of tea. That may be your only way of apologizing to me." Ivy said from her corner, refusing to look at the three men. "Please?"

Julius looked at the teapot on the stove, weighing his options. Forgiveness from this odd Outsider-even more so than Alice-or depletion of his precious tea?

Julius took one look at Nightmare and Gray and opted for forgiveness.

**.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

After the fiasco with the night gown, the four extremely flustered and embarrassed young people vowed to never speak of it again and to act as if it had never happened. From the way Ivy acted, you would think she had completely forgotten about it. Which, since it kind of traumatized her and that sort of thing usually leads to memory loss, it wasn't too far fetched to say that the Outsider girl had completely erased from her memory.

Anyways, back to the plot. Today was the day that Nightmare was supposed to assemble the Role-Holders of Wonderland because Ivy had found the first clue for finding Alice-Alice's vial that contained the "Medicine of the Heart" which Peter White had forced her to drink upon her arrival in Wonderland. Nightmare explained to Ivy that he had given her the "Medicine of the Clover," which was essentially the same as the Heart one. The only difference was that the vial Ivy now held onto basically made her a citizen of the Tower of Clover. The Heart vial was meant to make Alice a citizen of Heart Castle, which Peter fully intended it to since he was so "in love with Alice" but the former Outsider's will was very strong and the only thing the Medicine of the Heart did was ensure her stay in Wonderland until the purpose she held in Game was fulfilled.

"So all I gotta do is say 'Oh look, I found Alice's vial, it's still full, she didn't go home' and they should be thankful. Right?" Ivy asked Nightmare anxiously. The thought of addressing the Role-Holders with this information frightened her, frankly, due to the fact that quite a lot of them could be unpredictable and tended to be trigger-happy violent morons.

_Especially Peter and Blood…Ace is that way too I guess, but he's mostly psychotic._ Ivy thought to herself.

"Basically. Don't worry though. If I see you're having trouble, I'll jump in and help." Nightmare assured her. He handed her the vial that she had found in Blood's rose garden, which was now wrapped up in a silk handkerchief and cleansed thoroughly so you could plainly see the liquid inside it and the heart-shaped top, confirming it was indeed the very vial that Alice carried with her.

Until now, of course.

Ivy might have found a critical object of evidence and was one step closer in her search for Alice Liddell, but an important question remained unanswered: What could have possibly happened to her? Had she been kidnapped by some ominous entity? Or perhaps this was all just an elaborate part of the current Game, a route made to deter the whole thing just for fun?

Ivy had no answers at all to any of these questions, and she was afraid once she started talking to the Role-Holders, someone was going to ask her.

"Thanks, Nightmare." Ivy said absentmindedly, his offer breaking through her jumbled mess of thoughts. She smoothed her dress; the same one she had found in her closet at the Tower of Clover. It smelled like it had been washed, so she assumed Julius had taken in upon himself to stop being a masochistic workaholic for a bit and kindly wash her dress for her. She wasn't going to ask.

"You two ready to go?" Gray asked, interrupting the two of them. He and Julius stood at the door impatiently.

"Come on, let's get this over with. My work is piling up with all the interruptions you three have given me." Julius said stoically, glaring at Nightmare.

"Oh, you can be a sociable person for a couple of hours and just lay off the clocks for a bit. It won't kill you." Ivy said in exasperation, knowing from the manga just how much of a workaholic Julius really was. She sensed that with Alice's absence, he was even worse. It showed in the dark circles under his stonier-than-usual eyes.

_Come to think of it…pretty much everyone is back to their old ways now that Alice has disappeared._ Ivy thought with a jolt._ No…they're WORSE now. The only ones who I haven't noticed being completely affected by it are Gray and Nightmare. Then again, I don't really know much about Gray. But Nightmare…he's completely the same! Well, if he ever did start going on weird on me because Alice is gone, I'll be there to comfort him._

…_Why the hell did I just think that?_

_Snap out of it, Ivy. You're going out of character. You never think about guys in the way you have been about Nightmare ever since you got here. It's highly unlikely that anything will happen since all the guys are in love with Alice, so just stop hoping._

…_Ugh, I really hate it when I mentally argue with myself._

"Ivy? You all right?" A pale hand waved in front of her face, and Ivy realized she had been spacing off. She straightened up and nodded at Nightmare. "Good. Well, I contacted everyone through their dreams and told them that we were meeting at the Amusement Park so you could show them your findings. Gowland said it was all right to meet in his territory, and Blood promised to behave. Mostly because I threatened him, but still."

"Hah! People take your threats seriously? You, Mr. I Cough Up Blood On People And I'm Afraid of Hospitals?" Ivy scoffed. She didn't mean to sound so sarcastic, it was just a defensive reflex after the startling thoughts she had just had.

Nightmare's eyes made her slightly uncomfortable as they seemed to stare into her soul. "As a dream incubus, my threats should be taken seriously. My power can make you dream nightmares forever. Trust me, you don't want to mess with me." His tone had shifted from the usual chipper or whiny one he used, and now sounded professional and…frankly, Nightmare's tone kind of scared Ivy right now, because it made him sound just really awful. Ivy couldn't explain it, but she hated the way the Role of the Caterpillar was speaking right now. It didn't sound right to her.

"S-sorry." Ivy stammered. "I'm just kind of scared and I'm taking it out on you guys. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Nightmare replied, the scary tone diminishing almost all the way. "I understand."

"Seriously, I would like to get going." Julius muttered in annoyance. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get back to work."

"One of these days, I am going to drag you out of this tower and make you wake up and smell the amazing fumes of social reality." Ivy deadpanned.

"Good luck with that." Gray said with a pointed glance at the purple haired Clock Maker. "The only way to get Julius away from his work here and make him walk outside is to MOVE all the clocks and get him to walk to wherever the new location for them is."

Julius didn't answer, already walking out the door. Obviously his patience was expired. The three others followed close behind him, walking in an awkward veil of complete silence as they made their way to the Amusement Park. When they arrived, a couple of the territory's designated helpers showed them the way to the meeting place, saying that everyone was already present. The place in which Ivy was going to explain her findings and hypothesis (which was pretty much nonexistent at this point, so she was just going to have to bull shit her way through this whole ordeal) on how and why Alice disappeared was Gowland's manor, located in the back of the Amusement Park. Boris the Cheshire Cat greeted the group at the door and said, "For being the ones to call the meeting, you guys are kinda late." He flashed an amused grin in Julius's direction, obviously knowing his dislike for being around people and his hatred for being late.

"Sorry, Boris. It was my fault. But I'm ready now," _I hope._ Ivy added silently in her mind. Nightmare reached out and patted her hand in reassurance. Despite feeling slightly happy at the gesture, Ivy was starting to get a bit uncomfortable with the way Nightmare was sort of always touchy-feely with her. She hated the mixed emotions she had behind his actions, and she was beginning to loathe being surrounded by hot men while she was supposed to be searching for the missing girl that they all were supposed to have feelings for.

If she ever returned home, Ivy would find the creators of this series and kill them for causing her so much mental damage.

Boris led them to a large room with a big circular table where all the current Role-Holders sat. Ivy avoided Blood's cold stare and Peter's chilling gaze, instead preferring to wave at Vivaldi. The Queen of Hearts warmly waved back smiling elegantly. Elliot gave her a courteous nod, and the Bloody Twins excitedly hopped up and down in their seats with happy cries of "Hi Other Pretty Lady!" Ace looked like he was staring off into space, but Ivy felt as if he was staring at her in some odd way without actually looking at her. Boris grinned at her and went to sit next to Gowland, who spread his arms out wide and boomed, "Ivy! I never got to finish my song for you. After this, I'll show you a true musician."

"We'll see about that," Ivy answered politely, causing Gowland to smile with happiness.

Gray and Julius went to sit down, and Nightmare ushered Ivy up the front of the table. All of the Role-Holders were now staring at her, and she fidgeted under their piercing gazes. Nightmare leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Don't worry Ivy. You'll be fine. I know you will."

Ivy wished she had as much faith in herself as Nightmare did, and cleared her throat. "H-hello." Her voice squeaked from being under pressure, and she cleared her throat once more. "S-sorry about that. No offense to any of you, but I'm terrified right now." That earned her a few approving chuckles, and the tension in the room dissipated slightly. Ivy continued: "I recently arrived in Wonderland where I learned that my job was to help you guys find Alice Liddell. And even though I just officially began my search yesterday, I already found something." Ivy dug into the pocket of her dress and brought out the cloth that contained Alice's vial. Unwrapping it, Ivy held up the vial for all to see. Beams of radiance from the lights above her hit the fine crystalline glass and caused little glints of reflective flares all around the room, and everyone gasped.

Peter hopped up **(No pun intended. …Okay, yeah, it was. Hahahaha XD) **and proclaimed, "That is my sweet Alice's possession! How did it get into your filthy hands, thief? Did you 'mysteriously' find it under a leaf?"

Ivy paled as the White Rabbit glared daggers at her; Peter's gaze was one of death it felt like. "I-I found it in Blood Dupre's garden. It…it was buried underneath a rose bush. But," Ivy added quickly, sensing that Peter was about to lunge at Blood's throat, "I know Blood didn't do anything to Alice. He may be a Mafioso, but I just know with my gut he'd never make Alice disappear."

"I don't need your help in defending my honor, girl." Blood spat angrily.

Vivaldi stood up, walked over to Blood, and smacked him across the cheek, leaving an angry red welt. "We would appreciate it if you'd show some respect to Ivy, Blood!" She growled darkly. Her tone and dangerous face made everyone except Ivy tremble. "We believe she deserves more respect than that." Vivaldi gave an irritated huff and marched back to her seat. Blood became silent and passive, staring at the table. Ivy shot Vivaldi a grateful glance and continued.

"The vial is still full, so I'm pretty sure Alice is still somewhere in Wonderland. I think…" Ivy paused as she tried to think of ways to word her theory. "I believe that Alice's disappearance is a critical point in this Game. For some reason, whatever force creates this whole Game thing decided it would be funny if the current Outsider mysteriously banished. I don't know how or why, but that's just my theory." _Mostly because that weird voice that told me where the vial was feels suspiciously like it has to do something with all of this. I wish I could tell Nightmare about it, but…I'm worried about what he'll say. _Ivy chewed nervously on her bottom lip as she addressed the room full of Wonderlanders. "I'm going to continue searching for clues about Alice, and I would appreciate it if I could get as much help as I could get from all of you. If you truly want her back, you're to have to pull your fair share of weight around. Sorry, but that's my only requirement for this. Oh, and I would also appreciate it if there were no attempts on my life while I'm here searching for Alice. So…yeah. Okay, I'm done." Ivy heaved a sigh and felt like falling into Nightmare's chest, but the passing thought startled her so much that she stiffened and made sure that she wouldn't be falling any time soon.

She was REALLY starting to dislike being surrounded by the bishies of Heart no Kuni no Alice. 

"You did well," Nightmare said quietly into her ear as he walked pass to speak with the other Role-Holders. "But you're looking a bit pale-sit down, okay?"

"Wow, medical advice from Nightmare?" Ivy muttered under her breath, but she took his advice anyway and sat down on the floor, breathing heavily. It was surprisingly taxing to speak in front of all the characters about this issues of finding Alice. For one thing, Ivy could feel their thoughts practically, which all revolved around the lines of "This chick better find Alice, or else she's dead." Another, they were all dangerous to some extent. Ivy wasn't very comfortable being in a room full of people with the ability to summon weapons at will because she had no real means of protecting herself. Lastly, Ivy just plain felt odd being surrounded by all this completely undeniably sexy men-and the breathtaking Queen of Hearts, Vivaldi. Ivy felt like a clump of dirt next to all these…precious, expensive gems.

Everything became a blur suddenly, and Ivy blinked rapidly as her sight became black. She was about to scream when her throat constricted tightly, and the same voice that had spoken to her in Blood's garden whispered urgently in her head:

**Look in the Joker's forest. There you shall find your next clue.**

Ivy wanted to tell the voice off, but she still couldn't speak out loud. So, she resorted to a mental conversation._ Who the hell are you and why do you keep popping up? _She demanded.

**I am who I am. Only when you are almost to the end my true identity will be revealed.** **Now hurry, young Outsider. Time is ticking by quickly, and for Alice, time is becoming her savior.**

_What? What does that mean?_ But the presence faded away and everything returned back to normal. Ivy let out a surprised squeak that rang out in the room, and Nightmare turned from his conversation with Gowland to look at her. "Is something wrong, Ivy?" He asked with concern.

Ivy gulped, wondering how she would phrase this. She decided to just be frank about it. "Um, Nightmare? Where's the Joker's forest?"

**Well, I hope that chapter was satisfactory! I honestly don't understand how I made a whole page and a half revolving around Ivy's PAJAMAS. Don't ask. And we're getting into some drama, eh? ^_^ I should put up a poll on my profile with different options about possibilities behind Alice's disappearance…but I'm to lazy to do it right now. Maybe later. :P**

**Well, I hope I'm doing this wonderful series justice, and I'm going to do extensive research on Joker's personality. I know Black Joker is an asshole, and White Joker is pretty much okay. Also, I might throw Pierce in there just for shits and giggles.**

**Once again, thank you very much for all the reviews so far, and please continue to do so!**

**PS: TO STYRR AND EMORY WHO MAY BE READING THIS, SORRY I DIDN'T PUT ELLIOT AND ACE IN MUCH. AS THE STORY PROGESSES, THEIR APPEARANCE SHALL INCREASE GREATLY. I SWEAR IT.**


	5. Just Joking Around

**I'm so excited because I finished the ****Heart no Kuni no Alice**** manga series online! It was sort of an unsatisfactory ending, I learned that the makers of the series are making ****Joker no Kuni no Alice**** into a manga, and also into an anime movie. YAY! ^_^ Also, I'm happy because I learned that Joker is basically like Zetsu from Naruto, and I'm used to writing Zetsu. Oh, how I miss the days of my Naruto obsessions…Well, please read on!**

_Chapter Five_

Nightmare stared at Ivy in shock. "The…Joker's forest?" He repeated, his questioning gaze accented by his fine silver eyebrow lifting up in bewildered confusion. "Ivy, you can't be seriously thinking about going there. The Joker is dangerous, more dangerous than anyone here!" He looked to Gowland for confirmation. "Gowland, help me talk some sense into this girl!"

"Ivy, Nightmare's right." Gowland said gruffly, instantly reminding Ivy of some over-protective uncle. Ivy made a mental note to refer to the Amusement Park owner as Uncle Mary from now on. "That man is nothin' but trouble. Ya listenin' to me, hun?" Gowland peered at Ivy through his bespectacled eyes.

"Yeah, I know, but…" Ivy gulped as the mysterious voice's message replayed in her head. "It's just my intuition again. I'm sorry, but I think the next clue to finding Alice is there. And everyone wants me to find their precious Alice, don't they?" Ivy didn't know where the sarcasm and anger came from, but as soon as the words shot out of her mouth, the teenage girl realized all along she really didn't appreciate all of the Ones With Duties only thinking about poor Alice and not showing her any type of concern. Only Nightmare, Gowland, and Vivaldi had even shown the slightest care for her, and all of them should have been kissing her ass because ivy was the one assigned to finding their precious Alice.

Nightmare and Gowland stared at Ivy with gaping mouths at her vehemence, and it seemed like the whole room was silent after her outburst. Every single Role-Holder in the room turned to stare at Ivy as well, and she realized that her angry short hissy fit had been loud enough for them to hear. Ivy flinched under the gazes of all the people in the room. Muttering a quiet apology to Nightmare, Ivy rushed out of the room and through the hallways of Gowland's manor, letting silent tears run down her face. Finding a quiet corner far away from the meeting room, Ivy settled into the shadows and let loose all the angry, pent-up feelings she had been holding in for her whole time in Wonderland as she silently sobbed and shook. Ivy felt like a complete bitch for being so selfish, but she was just angry that she had been chosen to find Alice. _It's not fair,_ Ivy thought strongly, wrapping her arms around her body for comfort. _I just got hooked on the series, and I was making a harmless wish! I didn't really want this. If I wanted to be in this version of Wonderland, it would be so all the guys would fall in love with me too! But no. They just think about Alice, and don't really even appreciate the sacrifices I'm making! I hate it here now. Being around all these handsome men with no hope of getting any from them…it's just too depressing. I know I'm being selfish. But I just can't help it. Every girl in the world has the secret yearn to be loved; I'm no different!_

"And I guess there's no point in hiding it…the one I want to love me is Nightmare Gottschalk, the dream incubus of Wonderland who holds the Role of the Caterpillar. Dammit!" Ivy slammed her fist against the wall, wincing when her knuckles scraped against the rough material. "I just want…to be like Alice. I just want someone to love me, even though I'm hopeless and awkward; even though I'm not pretty at all; even though I have no real talents. I just want it. And I don't care how selfish this sounds-I'm only human, and it's simply human nature to want."

Ivy half-expected someone to interrupt her, to walk up behind her and reveal that they had heard her whole rant. When nothing happened, Ivy sighed and slowly stood up, wobbling and leaning against the wall for support. She wiped her eyes, sure that they were puffy from her crying. "God, I'm an idiot." She smiled sarcastically to herself, relishing the burning pain from her scraped knuckles as punishment for being a greedy bitch. "I'll just do what they want me to do, get Alice back, and get the hell out of this place. Being here isn't good for my health. It's making me crazy."

Ivy collected herself and decided to head back to the meeting room to apologize for her bad behavior, maybe blame it on her period. From what Ivy knew of the male species, none of them liked it when girls mentioned their periods. Ivy was hoping the Wonderland guys were the same.

She popped her head in the room, hiding the rest of her body behind the doorframe. As soon as she did that, Ace's face was looming in front of hers, grinning that adorable yet slightly creepy and psychotic smile he did so well. Ivy yelped in surprise and hopped backwards into a potted plant, the leaves scratching her skin.

"Oh, I didn't mean to scare you," Ace hurried over to help her up like a gentleman. "I was just going to go look for you! You ran out in such a hurry, I was afraid something was wrong." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the plant cocking his head and smiling. "Are you all right now, Miss…Ivy?"

"Y-yeah. I don't know what came over me; it was probably just my period speaking." Ivy stammered, blushing as Ace's handsome yet boyish good looks penetrated her brain and made her melt somehow, despite the fact that she knew he was a complete psychopath.

"…Hm?" Ace looked completely confused, and Ivy concealed a giggle. She noticed he was still holding her hand, and she quickly slid hers out.

"Nothing. Now if you would excuse me, I'm going to go find more clues to locate Alice." Ivy waved her hand dismissively, wondering what the Knight of Hearts' reaction would be to Alice's name.

The effect was instantaneous. Ace's face hardened but he kept his smile on. Lowering his voice, Ace replied, "I'd be careful if I were you, Ivy. I have a feeling you're going to get in trouble with this. And be forewarned…" Ace's hand fingered a lock of Ivy's black hair, and she stepped back from him in surprise. "I still relish in the idea of killing you with my own two hands. Have a good day!" His voice returned to its normal mannerly way, and Ace waved Ivy off, walking away.

As soon as the Knight of Hearts was gone, Ivy stiffly walked back into the room, running into a masculine body on the way. With a pronounced "Oomph," Ivy hissed under her breath, "For crap's sake, I just want to find Nightmare and get the frick out of here!" Looking up, Ivy was surprised to see Elliot March's pleasant face looking down at her. "O-oh…Elliot."

"Hey." Elliot's mouth quirked up in a slight smile. "You all right? I saw you running into Ace, and right after you had the outburst too. I imagine that guy gave you a bit of a scare."

"Eh, nothing I can't handle. I'm fine. Thanks for worrying." Ivy flashed the March Hare a smile. Then she sobered and said softly, "Um…tell Blood I'm not trying to make him angry or anything. I don't want to be enemies with him. I'm doing the best I can. And I just want to help."

Elliot's face registered his surprise, and he brushed a lock of his blonde hair away from his face. "You don't really have to worry about Blood. Sure, he's my best friend, but I know what an ass he can be. You're lucky Nightmare likes you so much-he can protect you from Blood. They guy might be a sick complainer, but he has skills." Elliot looked over his shoulder where the Twins and Blood were conversing. "Just give Blood time to adjust to your presence. When Alice disappeared, all of us took some damage, but I'm afraid to admit that Blood got it the worse. I don't care what he says. I know he cares for Alice in some way. Hell, we all do. Even me." Here Elliot blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well…I'm gonna shut up now. Good luck, Ivy. And thanks. For doing this," Elliot added, walking back over to Blood.

Ivy steeled herself and made her way over to Nightmare and Gray. Before they could say anything, Ivy bowed down and blurted out, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be so bitchy! I've just been stressed, and I was releasing some tension." Ivy gulped and looked into Nightmare's deep eyes. "I'm really sorry. If you don't want me going to the Joker's forest, I promise I won't. I'm just so sorry."

Nightmare and Gray looked at each other. Then Nightmare erupted in laughter, and Gray chuckled quietly with amusement.

"Ivy, it's fine." Nightmare laughed, clapping her on the shoulder. "We all understand that you've been under a lot of stress being dubbed as Alice's advocate practically. You were bound to explode at some point. I'm just surprised it took you this long." He smirked slightly, and Ivy's heart melted into a puddle of goo. It took all her self control not to drool at the sexy (well, Ivy thought he was) incubus and throw herself at him. And she hated herself for thinking that way, cursing her teen hormones.

"Do you really believe that the Joker holds some information about Alice?" Gray asked.

Ivy recovered from her lust-fog and straightened up. "Well…yeah. I do. I can go by myself if you guys don't want to go, or not at all. But I'm just trying to do my job."

"Ivy, we'll go with you." Nightmare said warmly. Ivy shivered when he said her name. She was starting to realize just how much she liked it when he spoke her name in that silky, kind voice of his. _Oh God, I think I'm starting to turn into Peter…_Ivy mentally groaned in her head. _I keep thinking creepy things about Nightmare like he probably does about Alice!_

"Yes, we will." Gray agreed, nodding. "Technically since you ingested the Medicine of the Clover, we're sort of like your benefactors or protectors now. They same would be for someone of Heart Castle if you ingested the Medicine of the Heart."

"Hey, this is a random question, but…this place the four card suites a lot. Is there a Country of Spades and Country of Diamonds in Wonderland?"

"Actually, yeah." Nightmare nodded. "The Country of Hearts and the Country of Clover are neighbors, so that's why its members are close. On the other side of the Country of Clover lies the Country of Spades. Beyond that, the Country of Diamonds."

"And after that?"

"Wasteland." Gray explained. "No one really goes there unless they're adventurous. Monsters like jabberwocky and bandersnatches live there. And yes, they're real," He added, seeing Ivy's skeptical frown.

"Oh. Well…are you ready to go to the forest of the Joker?" Ivy asked quietly.

"Of course. Let's get going." Nightmare smiled, and the three bid farewell to the rest of the Role-Holders.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Ivy and her entourage of handsome Country of Clover men stood in front of the forest that was rumored to be the start of the Joker's property. The three had gone back to the Clock Tower and gotten their stuff ready, and Ivy had found herself a better outfit more adapted to go exploring the thick woods. She now wore a pair of pants made of a soft grey material that hugged her legs, keeping them warm; her shirt was a quarter-inch sleeved white shirt that resembled a pirate's poofy shirt, complete with the slightly puffed out sleeves along with a black vest over that; high silver boots with gold insignias intricately woven into the material went up to just a few inches below her knees. Ivy liked it for the lack of color because it made her feel like Nightmare, considering he mostly just wore silver, gold, and purple. And as Ivy had mentioned earlier, she knew she was falling for the Lord of the Tower of Clover fast and hard, and she wanted to get all the help she could get for Nightmare to just like her romantically in the slightest way.

"We're here." Ivy said, staring at the dark expanse of overgrown vegetation in front of her. "If you want to turn back now, we can."

"No. We're fine, Ivy." Gray said.

"In fact, we should be asking YOU that." Nightmare pointed out. "Joker could molest you, or kidnap you, or hide you away and-"

"Aren't you supposed to be making me feel better?" Ivy asked, an anger vein pulsing on her forehead.

"I guess I should. Sorry. I just don't want you to get hurt. Stay between Gray and I at all times, okay?" Nightmare said protectively. He pulled on his cloak and tugged the hood over himself. He began to march forward purposely. Gray moved behind Ivy as the group moved forward into the dense forest, and Ivy thought with an ironic smirk that she felt like she was in a proverbial sandwich of good-looking men; Gray and Nightmare were the bread and she was the lucky condiments being smooshed by their hotness.

"It's too quiet," Ivy whispered when the three of them had been walking for about four minutes. "I don't like it. Where's the birds? Where's the little forest critters?"

"I don't know. But you're right; it's too creepy in here." Nightmare shuddered. "And I'm a guy who hangs around in dreams-I know creepy."

"If something happens and I scream like a girl, please don't say anything." Ivy muttered as a heavy feeling settled around the atmosphere.

"But Ivy…you ARE a girl. Therefore you scream like one." Gray pointed out.

"Shut up, Gray. You know what I meant."

After about ten minutes of more trudging through the thick, dense vegetation of the Joker's forest, Ivy noticed a couple of signs that said things like "BEWARE: CIRCUS HEAD," "Joker's Country," and "No Trespassing by order of Joker: Penalty is DEATH."

"Well Toto, I don't think we're Kansas anymore." Ivy muttered sarcastically.

" Uh, Ivy? Who the hell is Toto?" Nightmare asked.

"Never mind." Ivy shook her head and pointed to the signs nailed to the trees. "So does this means I'm gonna die?"

"No. I won't let you." Nightmare sharply said, looking at Ivy protectively. Ivy flushed and murmured a mangled "Thanks."

"Somebody's coming, Lord Nightmare." Gray hissed through gritted teeth. The Lizard and the Caterpillar both moved in so that they flanked Ivy's sides closely. Ivy found herself thinking the "hot guy sandwich" thought again despite the gravity of the situation.

"Well, well, well. Visitors. We haven't had a visitor for…quite a long time." An amused male voice seductively rang out through the forest. "Oho! And we're even fortunate to have the Lord of Clover Tower with his little lackey the Lizard. And who is this little gem?" The voice wrapped around Ivy's brain, and she felt her head go fuzzy. Nightmare grabbed her hand and clenched it tightly, whispering comforting words into her ear. Ivy closed her eyes tightly as she heard footsteps approaching them. When the voice was literally only a couple of feet away from her, Ivy knew that the Joker had appeared. "Another Outsider girl, eh? Two Foreigners in one Game? That's surprising."

Ivy opened her eyes to find herself looking at a man with an eye patch on his right eye; the opposite of Nightmare's and the same design. He wore a clown's outfit with vibrant colors of gold, grey, black, purple, silver, and a bit of red. His hair was a dark auburn covered with a jester's hat. On his belt was a small white mask with a frowning face. The Joker smiled pleasantly. "Hello, my dear. Are you here for the circus?"

"No." Ivy shook her head. "I've come to ask you something: where is Alice Liddell?"

The Joker looked surprised. From his belt, the mask said in a rude tone similar to the Joker's, "_**Why the fuck do you think we know anything about that little whore? We only met her once."**_

"Because I just do. Please," Ivy pleaded, staring into the man's eyes. "this is very important. If you know anything at all, we would appreciate it if you could tell us."

White Joker-because that was who was currently in control, Ivy noted-shrugged and spread his arms out wide. "Well, when a fair maiden intones us so sincerely, how can we refuse? If you come with me to the circus…perhaps I will tell you what I know. Alone, of course." White Joker added, staring pointedly at Nightmare and Gray.

"No!" Nightmare snarled, stepping even closer to Ivy so that his body was crushing hers almost. "I know your tricks, Joker. The girl stays with me and Gray. Got it?"

"_**Fine," **_Black Joker snarled back from White Joker's belt. The little mask twitched and moved with agitation it seemed. _**"Then I guess you won't know anything. Come on, Joker; we should get back to work. These retards just have to be all chivalrous." **_

The Joker turned to move, but Ivy broke free from her hot-guy sandwich thing that was going on and grabbed the end of his belt. "WAIT!" Ivyyelled. "I'll go with you." As Gray and Nightmare stuttered and tried to answer her, Ivy turned and smiled at them. "Don't worry guys. I'll be fine. Just stay here, and when Joker and I are done talking, I'll meet you guys back here. Okay?"

"Ivy, no. I don't trust him. I don't like this." Nightmare shook his head.

"I agree with Lord Nightmare." Gray said gruffly, glaring at the Joker. "Please, Ivy. Don't do this. We'll look for other ways to locate Alice."

"No. I have to do this. Just trust me, okay?" The Joker chuckled at Ivy's stern tone and patted her on the shoulder.

"You have a very pure spirit, young lady." He said sincerely. "I like that." He turned to Nightmare and nodded at him. "I understand your concern, and I swear that no harm will intentionally be done to this Foreigner. I respect her mature decision." He loped his arm with Ivy's and smiled in a mannerly way that made Ivy swoon slightly because-as with every other male in Wonderland-the Joker was some fine piece of ass.

"Be careful…Ivy." Nightmare said as the Joker led her deeper into his domain. Ivy gulped as she could make out colorful tents and the like, and she could begin to hear circus-y type music playing in the air. Ivy was frightened about what might possibly happen to her, but after her little woe-is-me self pity party, Ivy was determined to fill her "Role" in the Game.

"_**Your name is Ivy, right bitch?"**_ Black Joker asked from White Joker's side. Ivy nodded, then answered in the affirmative. Black Joker chuckled and said smugly, "_**From here, you have a nice ass. Joker, sometime you have GOT to let me have some of that."**_

"YOU BASTARD!" Ivy yelled, feeling protective of her butt. She yanked out of the Joker's arm and held her rear end for fear that someone was going to grab it. "No one touches my ass! PERVERT!"

"Sorry about that, Ivy." White Joker apologized, covering the mask with his hand. "My other self can't be trusted to be kind to women. I'm afraid to be his counterpart, really."

"Ass hole. Pervert. Bastard. Son of a bitch. WHALE." Ivy hissed profanity insults at Black Joker, the last one a "kid-friendly" version of the word "bitch"; Ivy and one of her friends had been joking around and made it up one day. As Ivy said that, a pang of homesickness hit her in the gut like a canon ball, but she just continued to stare ahead at the circus she was approaching, making sure the Joker couldn't tell her feelings from her facial expressions.

"We have arrived!" White Joker announced suddenly as the trees cleared. In the clearing stood many colorful tents, cages, and all sorts of circus-looking people mulling around the forest circus. Ivy stood and stared in astonishment and wonder at the mysterious world of the Joker's circus.

"Ha-ha, are you amazed at my humble work office?" White Joker chuckled, noticed Ivy's astonished face.

"I-it's…" Ivy couldn't find the words to describe the amazing world she had stumbled into. As she and the Joker walked into the circus, various circus workers stopped what they were doing to bow as their master passed. All of them were faceless, but they were all wearing either colorful and elegant clothing or completely outrageous get up. Either way it was easy for Ivy to see that the people at the circus were happy.

"_**They're happy because we gave them a fucking purpose, you retard." **_

Ivy jumped at Black Joker's words, wondering if he could hear her thoughts.

"Black said that because he could tell from the look on your face that you were wondering why there are so many faceless here," White Joker said. "We have recruited them because they wanted a purpose; here at our circus, they have one."

Ivy didn't answer as the Joker led her to the largest tent in the middle of the circus area. The Joker opened the flap and ushered her in. Inside was a large expanse of fancy furniture and the like, surprising Ivy due to the fact that the Joker lived in the middle of the woods.

The Joker sat on the bed closest to them and patted the space next to him. "Come, come! Sit. I will tell you all I know about Alice Liddell's mysterious disappearance."

Ivy sat in the spot and looked up at the Joker incredulously, completely on the edge and making sure he wouldn't be able to catch her off guard. "Well, I guess I should start by this: when was the last time you saw Alice?""Oh…that would be…"

"_**When the dumb bitch stumbled into our forest and pleaded innocent about not knowing it was our property. She ran off when she beat us in a card game."**_ Black Joker interrupted White Joker in a rude tone.

"Yes, Black speaks the truth." White Joker nodded. "One of our associates brought us the news that Miss Liddell had disappeared. We were saddened, because we wanted to play with her some one." White Joker smiled, and Ivy shuddered from the creepiness emanating off of him.

"Okay." Ivy took a deep breath. "I guess that sounds reasonable, but…why don't I completely believe you?"

"_**Because you're an idiot, but White's too 'polite' to say so." **_Black grumbled.

"Maybe you're right, and we DO know more about Miss Liddell's disappearance." White leaned closer to Ivy, his arms suddenly snaking around her waist. "What would you do if that were true…Ivy?"

Ivy's face went red and she raised a hand to slap the Joker's face. He quickly grabbed her approaching hand and held it fast and tightly, leaning into her face and saying in Black's voice, "_**I wouldn't do that If I were you. You're at a disadvantage here."**_

"Y-you promised Nightmare and Gray you wouldn't hurt me!" Ivy stammered, struggling to get out of the man's grasp. "You w-were lying!"

"I was not. I said we wouldn't harm you, didn't I? And I do not think that THIS," White Joker smirked as his face loomed in closer to Ivy's. "Is harming you at all." And with that, Ivy Cainz got her first kiss as the Joker pressed his lips against hers, making her dizzy as he pressed her down onto the bed and kissed her hungrily. His hand began to slip up her shirt, and Ivy could hear Black's laughter as she felt herself getting dizzier and dizzier.

_What…?_ Ivy thought sleepily, her eyes closing despite herself. _Why…is he kissing me? I've never been kissed before…And even though I really don't like this Joker guy, I…want him…to keep kissing me…_

_No! I'm in love with Nightmare, aren't I? I have to be loyal to him! So that means…_

_I have to…_

_GET THIS PERVERT OFF OF ME!_

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME, YOU ASS HOLE!" Ivy screamed, yanking her mouth away from the Joker's and slapping his face so hard that a slapping noise could be heard, all thoughts of Nightmare making her remember where her true loyalties should lie.

"Ow. That hurt." White Joker said in a pitiful voice, looking at Ivy with smoldering eyes. "I thought I was giving you what you wanted?"

"I'd NEVER want a kiss from you, much less my FIRST kiss! How dare you, you son of a bitch?" Ivy pushed the Joker off of her body and leapt to the floor, shaking as the tingling sensation of his tongue and lips lingered on her mouth.

"_**You just bought yourself a one-way ticket to hell, you stupid wretch. All you had to do was let us play with you for a little bit and we would have told you everything else we know about Alice." **_Black snarled angrily. Ivy stumbled backwards as the Joker advanced towards her menacingly. "_**Say nighty night, little girl!"**_

The dizzy sensation returned to Ivy once more. The Joker grabbed her by the shoulders, and her vision began to blur. Everything became black and filled with shadows, and Ivy felt herself tremble and fall against the Joker. As she slipped into unconsciousness that had mysteriously developed around her, Ivy's last thought was a simple one-worded sentence:

_Nightmare…_

And then Ivy passed out in the arms of the Joker.

***swoons* I love Joker…HE'S SO HOT! But I love my Nightmare-sama better…Tee hee. XD**

**On Wednesday I'll be leaving for vacation in Cancun, and I won't be getting back until Sunday. So, there won't be any updates from me for a bit.**

**Please pray for all the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan; without those wonderful people, the amazing world of Heart no Kuni no Alice wouldn't exist!Also, I have a little fun poll posted up on my profile about Alice's disappearance. I was bored when I made it, so just don't say anything about a certain option in it…Heh heh…Blood…**

**Ahem! Review as always, and thank you so much for all the reviews you've already given me. It makes this author so very happy! ^_^**


	6. Is This A Dream Or A Nightmare?

**Ah…I'm so sorry about not updating sooner. I've been really busy with school. Since it's nearing the end of the year for me, all the teachers think it's fun to cram as much homework down our throats as they can. Asses. -_-+ Anyway, thanks for reading this far into ****Missing Dreams,**** and I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

Chapter Six

Ivy was dreaming.

At least, she thought she was.

Her mind felt fuzzy, and all of her surroundings where obscured by a foggy white mist. Ivy took one step and felt as if she was going to fall down from the dizziness that attacked her mind. "What happened?" She asked herself aloud, surprised when her voice carried and rang out throughout wherever she was. Ivy blinked rapidly as she recalled what had happened to her, the memories flashing through her mind like a strobe light:

Entering the Joker's forest.

Encountering the Joker and asking him if he knew anything about the whereabouts of Alice Liddell..

Going with him to his circus and following him into his tent against her better judgment.

And the one image that flared up brightly was the one she wanted to forget the most: when the Joker had kissed her and somehow caused her to pass out.

"Oh my God…" Ivy held her face in her hands, crumpling to the ground in an embarrassed heap. "I can't believe that ass kissed me like that! That's just not fair-I wanted my first kiss to be Nightmare, not some creeper like the Joker…Speaking of him, where is the Joker?" Ivy looked around wildly, expecting the circus clothes-clad handsome jester to pop out of nowhere and take advantage of her again. When she saw nothing but the white mistiness, Ivy realized that she wasn't in the real world anymore.

Well, as real of a world as Wonderland can get anyway.

"I think I'm in a dream," Ivy mused to herself. "I mean, this is what it looks like in the manga when Alice and Nightmare are in the dream realm and they're talking. So I guess I'm-OH MY GOD! MAYBE NIGHTMARE'S HERE!" Ivy leapt up sharply, wincing when the exhaustion she had been feeling peeked. All Ivy wanted to do was fall back to the ground and sleep, but she knew that would get her nowhere.

So Ivy decided to find Nightmare.

Simple, right?

Walking through the vast white expanse of nothingness, Ivy called out into the air loudly, "Nightmare! Are you in here? I REALLY would appreciate it if you were-this place is creeping me out and very lonely, and frankly I don't really want the Joker raping my unconscious body while I'm in dreamland here."

There was no answer. Frustrated, Ivy kicked the ground and muttered, "Great. At this rate, I might be a vegetable for the rest of my life. How the hell did the Joker make me pass out anyway? Did he have some weird scent crap or something?"

Suddenly everything went dark. Startled and confused, Ivy stopped in her tracks, stiffening. Images began to play around her as if she was in a room with televisions for walls, and Ivy almost passed out again when she realized what the pictures and images around her were.

It was Alice Liddell.

Ivy couldn't tell what was really happening. All she knew was that millions upon millions of Alice Liddells were suddenly staring at her with a disdainful look on her pretty face. Ivy opened her mouth to say something, but all the Alices interrupted her by saying as one, "You will become us."

"…what?" Ivy lifted an eyebrow skeptically at the closest Alice to her. "What are you talking about?"

Alice grinned evilly, reminding Ivy of the Wicked Witch of the West or the original Queen of Hearts. "If you stay here long enough, you will become Alice."

"Not this again…" Ivy groaned. She glared at Alice. "Look, your boyfriend Blood already tried scaring me with this talk. Nightmare said I didn't have to worry about it, and I believe him over some creepy figment of my imagination created while I'm passed out."

"True, the Caterpillar DID say that you may not become Alice…but the possibility is still there." An Alice from behind Ivy giggled viciously. "Slowly your soul will blend in with the current Alice's soul, and the two of you will become one. Alice Liddell will overtake Ivy Cainz, and nothing will be left but her. Your whole existence will disappear, and no one will remember you. No one here or in your original world."

"And when that happens, Alice will resume her ways of seducing the men of Wonderland…whether she realizes she is doing it or not." The first Alice that Ivy had spoken too suddenly grabbed Ivy's hand and spun her around. Shoving her roughly, this Alice stopped Ivy and pointed to a mirror that had suddenly appeared. "Look-it's already happening."

Ivy looked at her reflection in horror-all she saw was the brown hair of Alice Liddell, her blue dress with the white apron, and everything else that made Alice Liddell. Reaching out a hand to touch her reflection, Ivy whispered, "No…" As soon as her hand made contact with the glass, the mirror shattered into thousands of pieces. Ivy shielded her eyes and crouched down as all the other Alices shrieked with laughter.

"You will become one of us," They taunted, closing in on Ivy as she curled into a ball. "You will become Alice. And Ivy Cainz will be no more." Ivy could feel the multiples of Alices breathing on her as they laughed and whispered amongst themselves about her.

They began pulling at her hair, ripping her clothes and saying things like, "You're so ugly…" or "Why would you even think that Nightmare would go for YOU?" and even "Just give up on your search for the current Alice. You will never succeed. You will only get killed."

Finally Ivy shut her eyes and screamed loudly, "SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU, JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" The chatter ceased immediately. Ivy could feel each of the Alices' eyes on her as she trembled. Feeling anger surge through her, Ivy unwrapped herself from the little ball she had created and stood up slowly. Glaring at the many figures of Alice Liddell in defiance, Ivy snarled, "You can't tell me what may happen to me. It won't happen. It never will, because I won't let it. Get it through your stupid pretty little heads now: I am Ivy Cainz. I will be and I always will be. Nothing can change that. I'm looking for Alice because when I'm here in Wonderland, I feel as if I'm truly alive. So just shut up, go away, and let me do my job."

All the Alices blinked in surprise and, one by one, slowly began disappearing. Soon all that was left was one. This Alice looked at Ivy with pity in her eyes and quietly said, "You may want to look at this then, if you won't turn back from this asinine mission of yours." She stepped forward and placed a surprisingly cool hand on Ivy's forehead and Ivy's brain became filled with dozens of images and videos of Alice.

It was the REAL Alice, Ivy was sure of. Not all the doppelgangers in the dreamland she found herself in. There was Alice laughing with Boris and Gowland; here was Alice serving Julius coffee; here, she was walking hand-in-hand with Dee and Dum happily; and over there, Alice was in the rose garden with Blood and Vivaldi with Elliot in the background; in this scene Alice was angrily stomping away from an overjoyed Peter who appeared to have attacked her with a hug; this showed Alice looking uncomfortable with a happy Ace inside a tent; and finally, Ivy saw Alice and Nightmare in each other's arms, kissing one another madly as if they depended on each other's lips to live.

Ivy stumbled back as the last image seared into her mind. Ivy could hear the satisfied moans of both Alice and Nightmare as they kissed hungrily, passionately. Ivy felt her face go red, and she demanded, "What did you just show me?"

The remaining Alice smiled sadly and said, "The future…the past…the present…who knows? Either way, that is your biggest fear. If you find Alice, then that may happen and your chances of Nightmare falling for you will be diminished greatly. Just be careful, Ivy. Don't let your mind bully your heart into doing something you may not really want to do." And with that, the phantom-like Alice disappeared, leaving Ivy all alone once more in the mysterious dreamscape.

"What the hell was that?" Ivy asked herself. "Is this all my consciousness just telling me what I'm afraid of? Or…is this just some other sick part of this twisted 'Game'?" Ivy shook her head, shivering as she suddenly got cold. "Dammit…if this is a dream, where the hell is Nightmare? He should be here! Seriously, he's not called a dream incubus just for the fun of it!"

And at that moment, all Ivy really wanted was for Nightmare to show up and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

"Nightmare…" Ivy whispered. "You and Gray were right-I shouldn't have gone with the Joker. I'm sorry for being such an idiot…I miss you, and I want you to come wake me up right now. Please Nightmare. I need you."

As soon as Ivy uttered these words, she felt a change in the atmosphere around her. Instead of the lonesome, cold, dark feelings she had been getting ever since she had woken up in this place., Ivy now felt as if the dreamscape was brighter and safer. No bitchy Alice clones were going to be cruel to her now.

Because Nightmare was now here.

"Ivy! Ivy, are you all right?" Nightmare suddenly appeared in front of her, looking extremely worried.

"I am now. Took you long enough. Do you know how long I've been calling for you?" Ivy said. But she was smiling happily. All she wanted to do was drink in the sight of Nightmare's handsome, worried face-worried just for HER

"I'm so sorry; something was blocking my connection to the realm of dreams somehow. I think it's this forest." Nightmare slid his eyes to Ivy's pale face. "What happened?"

"Well…long story short, the Joker managed to make me fall unconscious and I woke up here, where I was promptly harassed by a bunch of mean and spiteful Alices that really enjoy the idea of me becoming 'one with the mother ship' so-to-speak." Ivy summed up, shrugging. "I didn't really get any information about Alice…but when I wake up, I promise I will." Ivy decided it would be best if she didn't mention the Joker's little attempt at seducing her…or the fact that it seemed to have worked slightly.

"No. Gray and I will come and get you. I don't want you near that cretin any longer." Nightmare said firmly. "He hurt you, didn't he?"

"No, I said I'm fine, Nightmare. Look, no bruises." Ivy held her arm out for Nightmare to see.

Nightmare just stared at her with his golden eyes and said, "I didn't say physically now, did I?"

"O-oh…" Ivy's face went pink. "Um…well, he did kind of piss me off, but he didn't torment me like all those creepy Alice clones. So I'll just wake up and sneak out, okay?"

"No, Ivy." Nightmare laid a hand on Ivy's arm. "You're our only hope to restore the Game to its original planning. I will not take any more chances in you getting hurt. Besides, you're probably one of the first real friends I have ever had." He smiled at her warmly then, and Ivy felt her heart flutter with joy.

Then she realized he had just said the word "friend" and Ivy's good mood deflated just a bit. Sighing, she thought sadly, _I guess all those Alice chicks were right. I'll never be anything to Nightmare but a tool to find Alice…or a friend._

"Hm? What do you mean, Ivy?" Nightmare cocked his head inquisitively. "You're not just a tool; you're a very good friend! Those awful Alice clones must have brainwashed you or something."

Ivy did a double take. "Y-you just read my thoughts?" She yelled, her face heating up.

Nightmare nodded. "In the dream realm, I can read minds. It's one of the perks that comes with the job of being the Caterpillar, I guess. Sometimes I can read minds outside of the dream realm, but that takes a lot of energy up and I tend not to do it for that reason."

"Oh. I'll have to remember that." Ivy mentally put up a wall inside her mind, a cage with iron bars and steel walls that surrounded all her romantic notions about Nightmare. Ivy saw Nightmare wincing as if in pain when she did, and she asked, "What's wrong?"

"How did you manage to perfect the art of blocking your thoughts so quickly? The speed of it hurts my head," Nightmare explained. He gave a quirky grin. "Well, you certainly an interesting girl, Ivy. I'm glad you were the one I brought into Wonderland."

"Yeah…me too." Ivy whispered. There was an awkward silence between the two and then she said, "Okay, can I wake up now? I really would appreciate getting back home."

"Home?" Nightmare crinkled his nose in confusion. "But you can't go home, not until after you find Alice."

"Oh-I guess I mean your place." Ivy laughed nervously. "I know I haven't been here for that long really, but…your Tower of Clover feels like home to me somehow. I can't explain it. I just want to go back and rest, this whole adventure has me exhausted.""All right. I'll send the message to your consciousness to wake up. So I guess that means you're ready for Gray and I to come get you?" Nightmare asked casually. Behind his casual air of ease Ivy could tell he was still worried about her being left alone for so long with the Joker, especially with her body unconscious like this.

"Hell yes. I'm giving up being the tough girl; I just want you to come get me. Joker really creeps me out, and I didn't really learn anything." Remembering to block her thought, Ivy mentally grumbled, _And the bastard said he would tell me something after he kissed me. I wonder what will happen now? He better hold up his end of the bargain, or else I'll pop a cap in his ass._

"Got it. I'm sending the command to your brain to wake up now. See you in a bit." Nightmare gave an elegant bow and waved goodbye as the dreamscape darkened and turned to nothing. A heaviness settled over Ivy, and then she suddenly opened her eyes.

Ivy appeared to be in shackles behind iron bars. Her wrists hurt from the rough shackles, and in her sleep it seemed that the skin had been chafing a little. Ivy groaned as she realized where she was-inside a dungeon or some sort of jail. Her body hung suspended above the ground about a foot due to the chains that bound her to the wall, and she could see moisture clinging to every part of the cell. "Oh, come on!" Ivy yelled into the darkness, wincing when her annoyed tone loudly bounced back at her from the echo. "That's just not fair; Joker SERIOUSLY had to lock me up?"

"Why yes, yes I did." White Joker's kind voice-a façade, of course-answered her as he stepped from the shadows in front of the cell bars.

"We just love a good prisoner," Black Joker chuckled menacingly, also stepping next to White Joker. Both looked the same, except Black had his eye patch on his right eye whereas White had his on the left. Their clothes were a bit different from each other's too-there was color variations and design differences.

Ivy gaped in awe at the two. "Wait, so there really is two of you?"

"Of course, Miss Cainz." White bowed deeply. His jester's hat tinkled as the bells shifted with his movement. "A good jester always has two sides to him."

"We just take it to a whole new level, don't we bitch?" Black smirked at her. "All the more to have fun with you."

"Please don't tell me you two are going to do something pervy to me while I'm shackled and virtually defenseless." Ivy pleaded with a dry tone.

"Of course not! Why would we do that?" White asked, shock evident on his handsome face.

"Course…it depends on your definition of 'pervy'." Black's identical profile smirked again, only this time it was more of a sexy leer.

_And this is why the idea of Wonderland being populated by so many hot men is a bad idea,_ Ivy thought with a gulp. Gathering her courage, she said in a voice that she hoped sounded confident, "So are you going to tell me what you know about Alice now?"

"Maybe," The Jokers said in synchronization, their voices in a lilting sing-song tone. "If we decide to. Didn't we also say that we may not know anything at all?"

Ivy winced as she remembered that part of their earlier conversation. "Well, call me an idiot and old-fashioned, but I still have faith that you know SOMETHING."

"And that's why you Outsiders are so much fun to play with," Black laughed manically. He suddenly pulled out a sharp-looking whip and held it up to the bars. "Because you're just so damn gullible. I just can't WAIT to wipe that fucking notion from your incredibly stupid mind, little girl."

"Now, now, Black," White reprimanded lightly. He also brought out an identical whip. "As the ring masters, shouldn't we treat our guests with more finesse?"

Ivy gulped, swallowing the lump in her throat. She really wished that Nightmare and Gray would arrive soon. But it was probably impossible; as if they knew where she was being held captive now? How would they know she was in this jail instead of at the Joker's circus?

"Well, Miss Ivy Cainz…are you ready to watch our act?" White asked pleasantly, taking out a ring of keys and using one to unlock the door to her cell.

"If you're not ready to WATCH it, then maybe you'll be ready to have the main part in it." Black said casually, stepping in behind White as the door unlocked and swung open with an eerie screech.

"Would you like to know the name of our signature act, Ivy?" White whispered into Ivy's ears, holding her chin up so that she would stare into his dark and foreboding eyes.

Ivy didn't say anything-she just kept staring at a particular spot on the wall behind the two Jokers.

"The name of our act is very simple. It is 'The Vanishing Girl'." Black explained, sliding a hand up Ivy's thigh. Ivy repressed the urge to shudder. "And you're the star, bitch."

"If you do anything to me, Nightmare will kill you." Ivy found herself saying confidently.

"Ohoho! Nightmare Gottschalk, you mean? No, I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, Ivy." White made a "tsk-tsk" noise in his throat. "Nightmare and the rest of the Role Holders just want you to locate the missing Alice Liddell. If you're exterminated, they'll simply find another one. Here in Wonderland, Outsiders have two options: one, either be loved by everyone; or two, only be tools and be destroyed if they cannot perform their duty."

"You're wrong!" Ivy exploded. "What the hell is up with everyone telling me that?"

"It's because it's true, you retard." Black scoffed. "Life really means nothing here. Death is more fun. Because when we die, we get another different life."

"You're wrong," Ivy whispered urgently. "Life…it's sacred. Special. People here may take it for granted, but in MY world? We love life. When someone or something dies, those close to them are very sad for a very long time. So while you have your notions about life, I have mine. And nothing can change that."

Ivy kicked her leg up to dislodge Black's exploring hand on her thigh. Glaring at the two Jokers, Ivy proclaimed in a trembling voice, "I don't care what the hell you all think about life and death. I'm here to do a job, and I'm gonna make damn sure I do it right. I've never been anything but normal, and now I have a chance to be something great. I'm not going to ruin that by letting you guys kills me. Now, WHERE. IS. ALICE?" Ivy roared the last few words in an angry voice, her snarl echoing throughout the jail and bouncing back to reverberate in everyone's ears.

White and Joker winced as Ivy's shout pierced their eardrums. Each tightened their grip on their whips and tugged the leather cord so that it was at maximum tautness. Black moved to Ivy's right whereas White moved to Ivy's left. As both of them raised their whips to strike her, Ivy squeezed her eyes shut and thought, _At least I had some somewhat inspiring last words before they do me in…sorry Nightmare. I never got to tell you I love you, even though I know we practically just met._

_But like you'd return those feelings anyway. The Alice clones were right-I AM a hopeless and stupid idiot._

And just as the deadly whips were about to pierce Ivy's flesh, a familiar voice rang out confidently "I'd put those down if I were you…Joker."

Ivy lifted her head up to see a undeniably sexy Nightmare strutting in proudly with a sharp-looking rapier with a gleaming silvery blade and a golden hilt in his hands. Gray trailed close behind him wielding a glossy black gun with a silver lizard symbol on the hilt.

"Nightmare! Gray!" Ivy cried out with joy.

Nightmare flashed her a grin that made her face burn intensely. Gray nodded curtly at her.

Both Jokers gave an irritated shake of their heads and glared at the two Tower of Clover inhabitants that had just walked in and ruined all the "fun." White sighed and spread his arms apart sadly. "Such a pity…I was really looking forward to having some more fun with this delicious little specimen."

"Assholes. Couldn't you have just waited a little longer?" Black complained. He grasped Ivy's cheek roughly and rang his tongue across the soft skin, chuckling when Ivy blushed with horror and gaped at him. "Oh please," He said gleefully. "You know you enjoyed that.""I did not, you pervert! Stop sexually harassing me!" Ivy shouted.

"You…" Nightmare growled, the atmosphere around him suddenly dark and ominous. "How DARE you defile Ivy so casually in front of me like that?" He raised the gleaming rapier in his hands. "I should have your heads for showing such a lack of respect towards me!"

Gray aimed his gun at White and calmly said, "Release the girl. Then we will decide your punishment."

White and Black looked at each other and started laughing, laughs that shook their entire being and made them shake. "Hah! Us, punished? That's rich!" White laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. "Really, you two have a better sense of humor than US, and we're the Jokers!"

"Your humor is sick and twisted. Anything else compared to it would be better." Nightmare uttered darkly. Ivy could see anger dancing around his eyes like fire, blazing hot and intense.

"Perhaps," Black mused. "But we don't give a damn about what everyone else thinks."

"Just let her go! NOW!" Nightmare barked. He suddenly rushed at the Jokers, his speed and agility surprising Ivy since she was used to him acting sick and complaining about exhibiting much energy. Nightmare aimed a kick at White Joker's legs and grasped Black Joker's shirt, causing both of them to fall to the floor without a chance to react. Both stared up at Nightmare in shocked awe, the surprise at Nightmare's fluid movements evident on their faces. "Take the key…and unlock her…from her shackles." Nightmare said slowly, as if talking to an incompetent fool.

Ivy gaped at Nightmare, then looked at Gray who shrugged as if to say, "Hey, he might act like an invalid all the time, but Lord Nightmare can kick some serious ass when he wants to." Ivy shook her head in disbelief; then, as White Joker shakily unlocked her from her bondages and Black Joker helped her down, she rushed over to Nightmare and said, "Thank you!" She resisted the urge to break down crying and tackle him in a bear hug.

Nightmare nodded curtly but relief clearly shown on his handsome, pale face. Pointing the rapier at the two Jokers, he said, "Now…to decide your punishment. You deliberately disobeyed the orders of a high-up Role Holder. That is a very gruesome punishment, I hope you two know."

"Death. That's normally the reward." Gray added in a monotone voice, coming over and placing a warm hand on Ivy's shoulder. "Are you all right, Ivy?"

"Uh-huh. Just a little shaken up," Ivy replied shakily. She paused in thought, then said quietly, "How about instead of punishing them, we have the Jokers finally spill about Alice? They know SOMETHING about her absence. I can feel it."

"Are you sure?" Nightmare looked shocked. "After all the crap they just put you through?"Ivy shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I don't want to seem like a goody two-shoes, but I think it's just their nature. The Jokers are like Dee and Dum, only at a higher level. They can't help if they have to urge to torture. Besides," She smiled nervously, "If we kill them, and they DID know something, we just lost a pretty good lead."Nightmare tapped his chin in thought. Then he nodded and said, "Well, Jokers? A horrible death or you tell us everything you know?"

"Is neither an option?" Black muttered, then proclaiming a loud "OW!" when White elbowed him hard. Black rubbed his sore side and said, "Fine. I guess we can tell you what we know."

"It is not much, mind you," White warned.

"Every little bit helps." Ivy said in a tone that implied "Get out with it already!"

"When Alice Liddell disappeared…when was it, a month ago? A week? Time is no essence here in Wonderland." White said sadly, prolonging his time of telling Ivy, Nightmare, and Gray where Alice was.

"Hurry up," Ivy urged.

"Shut the hell up, bitch! We're getting there! God, women are so-" Black cut off as Nightmare glared at him with the eyes of a very pissed off man. "A-ahem…a couple of days before all of Wonderland was in an uproar about Alice being 'gone', White and I saw her heading for the Wastelands. There was some figure in wrapped in what looked like shadows."

"We didn't do anything to stop them because we didn't think it was any of our business." White explained.

"Is that all?" Gray asked.

Both Jokers nodded. Then, they stepped towards each other and suddenly merged. Gray and Nightmare acted as if they saw that sort of thing everyday, but Ivy was caught a little off guard. She tried not to show it though. "That really is all we can tell you." White said, obviously the main persona at the moment.

"**If we knew any more, we'd tell you. But that would come at a cost."** Black took over for a moment, jerking his head in Ivy's direction and smiling a perverted grin. **"That little flower over there would have to come over for play time again."**"Ugh! You disgust me." Ivy shook her head in revulsion. "There's no way in hell I'm ever returning here unless it's with a legitimate reason."

"Come on Ivy, Gray," Nightmare said, turning around sharply. "It's time to go. We've gotten all the information we need." Nightmare grasped Ivy's hand and began pulling her along, power walking his way out of the dungeon and up a crumbling flight of stone stairs. Gray took up the end, creating once more a hot guy sandwich in which Ivy was in the middle of. When the trio made it to the top of the stairs, Nightmare pushed open the door and they stepped out into a sun-dappled clearing of trees. Ivy was taken aback-it was the circus grounds. She was sure because of the large tent in the middle belonging to the Joker. Everything else was gone or barren-no faceless people ran around happily, no colorful tents dotted the ground, no uplifting calliope type music rang through the air. Ivy twisted her head around to see that the doorway had been in a large tree.

"Well, if you ever decide to be Ms. Detective again, I am making sure Gray or I goes with you." Nightmare said roughly. He still had a firm grip on her hand, and Ivy didn't want him to let go. "What were you thinking? Please, Ivy, never do that again. You almost DIED."

"I'm sorry." Ivy hung her head in shame. "I just wanted to be useful."

"Being useful doesn't mean you can be reckless," Gray reprimanded.

"I'm sorry." Ivy whimpered again pathetically.

There was a period of awkward silence between the three.

"We're going home now, right?" Ivy asked to break the veil of silence.

Nightmare and Gray nodded. "We'll rest a bit, then decide our next plan of action," Nightmare explained. "We're getting much closer, I can feel it. Soon Alice will be back in our presence."

Careful not to let the disappointment show on her face from hearing Nightmare talk about Alice with such an intimate tone, Ivy said in happy voice, "Can I PLEASE take a shower?"

"Of course!" Nightmare laughed at Ivy's puppy-dog eyes. "You look like you need it."

"Yes! Shower time!" Ivy did a fist pump with her free hand. Gray and Nightmare chuckled at her happy reaction to being able to finally take a shower.

And as the three began their long trek back to the Tower of Clover, Ivy noticed something that made her heart soar with extreme and complete, utter happiness.

Nightmare was still holding her hand.

**Awww…I thought the ending was cute. ^w^ Please do me a favor, and **_**review**_** because I worked very hard on this chapter, and it took me four days (mostly because I kept getting slammed with homework -_-+) and I really want to know your guys' opinions on it.**

**So, now we're getting somewhere about where Alice might be. Who do you think the mysterious shadow person is? And why has Alice gone to the Wastelands?You'll find out soon~~~~ XD**


	7. Confessions of a Teenage Fangirl

**Thanks for so many reviews last chapter, and many, MANY thanks to **_**colombiansoccerchick**_** for leaving a very detailed and long review! Turns out the research I did for the game oriented part of this story wasn't as thorough as I had thought, and she gave me many helpful points on what I got wrong. Sorry if you're a fan of the HnKnA game series and that I ruined the Joker's entrance and whatnot into this story…but I WILL be putting my own twist to things, so you're going to have to hopefully not dislike me for what I do. Now, on with the show!**

**Chapter Seven**

When Ivy, Gray, and Nightmare returned to the Tower of Clover, Ivy was so exhausted that she took a shower before even doing anything else. She was dirty from being held in the Joker's dungeon, and the whole ordeal had sapped a lot of her strength. Add to the equation all the energy it took to stay awake as she and her "bodyguards" made their way back to the Tower of Clover, Ivy was one pooped girl now. The only thing that had really kept her away was the fact that Nightmare had been holding her hand. Only his reassuring warmth and the pressure of their skin making contact had kept Ivy's eyes open and her feet moving at a quick enough pace.

As Ivy washed herself off in the shower, watching the blackened water swirl down the drain, Ivy laid her head against the slick wall and sighed. Her whole body tingled with the memory of Nightmare's hand folding over hers perfectly as if it belonged there. Ivy's mind went to the way Nightmare's normally easygoing and pale face had turned angry and hard when he realized that Ivy was in danger. She went through her memories of the way Nightmare had fought for her against Joker, the way his body had become lithe and skilled at combat.

There was no mistaking her heart's choice now-she truly had fallen in love with Nightmare Gottschalk.

"Nightmare…" Ivy whispered softly. She clutched her hand to her heart as its beating became more rapid at the mention of Nightmare's name. And though she knew the thought was completely uncalled for, Ivy mused with a slight grin about how much she wanted to walk in on Nightmare showering. Ivy imagined rivulets of hot steamy water cascading down Nightmare's sleek form, his soft smile turning into "come-hither" smirk.

Ivy gasped and fanned herself, turning beet red. "Bad Ivy!" She scolded herself. "No bad thoughts about Nightmare in the shower! All wet…and steamy…And-crap! I need to stop thinking these things!" Ivy decided that it was a good idea to quit her shower and get dressed. She cut the water and stepped out of the shower, giggling as wisps of steam rose above her head. She picked up the set of clothes that the maids had left out for her when she had arrived back at the Tower. It was a simple violet t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants accompanied with underwear and a bra. With a jolt, Ivy realized that they were from her world. At least, they were in the style of the clothing back where she lived.

"That's odd." Ivy said, inspecting the clothing. "But I won't complain." She dried herself off and slipped the outfit on. Then she paid attention to her hair, which was a black tangled mess dripping water onto the linoleum floor of the bathroom. "Well, since I plan on sleeping right after this, guess I won't do anything with this really." Ivy ran her fingers through her hair and brushed it out quickly, putting it in a hair tie and leaving it in a messy ponytail. She was slowly falling more comfortable with life here, she realized. Just like Alice had.

"But I WON'T become Alice," Ivy said, gritting her teeth in determination. "Whatever the hell those Alice clones were spouting on about, it won't happen. I simply fit in here, that's all. I will always be Ivy Cainz-nothing will change that."

With another determined glare at her reflection in the mirror, Ivy opened the door to the bathroom and walked down the hallway to her room. While she was gone, the house help had decorated her room a bit. Ivy's closet was now a collection of clothes from her world and fancy dresses and other related outfits from Wonderland. On the door was a note from a maid it seemed that basically read "We've transported some outfits from your old home to make your stay in Wonderland more comfortable. The Wonderlandian clothing selections are with compliments from our Master Nightmare."

"That's nice of them," Ivy said. "I really like Wonderland."

There were a few more books in the bookshelf next to the _Alice_ _in_ _the_ _Country_ _of_ _Hearts_ manga Ivy had brought along with her, ones about Wonderland's history. All in all there were a few additions to her room that made Ivy feel more at home. She closed the drapes to her windows and flopped down on the neatly made bed, hugging a pillow and yawning.

All her exhaustion came back to her, making her eyes close quickly. "I'm so tired," Ivy whispered. She wrapped herself in the blankets from the bed and snuggled into the mattress a bit more. "If I sleep, maybe I'll see Nightmare in my dreams again." She added quietly in a hopeful tone. Ivy hadn't seen neither Nightmare nor Gray since she had gotten back, but she suspected that it was because she had marched straight to the bathroom after asking a maid to get her a pair of pajamas. Ivy smiled as she thought about Nightmare and Gray's friendship. They were truly some of the best friends she had ever had, and even though Ivy missed her old friends and her family, she didn't want to leave Wonderland.

Not just yet at least. Ivy wanted to stay…just a little bit longer. She wanted to see more of Wonderland and become friends with more of the Role Holders. Ivy did want to go home, but not just yet.

So, it wasn't too big a surprise when she found herself dreaming about her old house back in her world, complete with her friends and parents.

"Mom? Dad?" Ivy whispered as she walked through the door to her house. Her parents were standing before her, looking worried. Behind them was her best friend Molly.

"Ivy! Where have you been?" Her mother demanded, running over and hugging her tightly. "You've been gone for…for…"

"For TWO YEARS!" Her father yelled angrily. "Why would you just run away like that?"

"Two…years?" Ivy whispered. Now that she noticed, her parents' hair was grayer, and Molly looked older. No longer sixteen, but an official adult at the age of eighteen in the eyes of the American government.

"Why did you go, Ivy?" Molly whispered as tears dripped down her cheeks. "What could possess you to run away? Your life wasn't horrible. It was perfectly normal."

"I didn't run away!" Ivy insisted. "I was taken to Wonderland! It was amazing…I made so many new friends, and I-oh no. I never found Alice. I have to find her." Ivy looked around wildly as if she could find the missing girl in her own house. "Have you…seen Alice?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ivy's father demanded harshly. "Ivy, have you been doing drugs since you left? There's no such thing as Wonderland."

"No, I have NOT been on drugs." Ivy glared at her father. She knew he would never act like that in real life. "And Wonderland IS real. I've been there. I'm supposed to be there. Right now." Ivy reeled backwards towards the door. She wanted to get out. Now.

"You're on drugs right now!" Ivy's father insisted angrily. "Get out of my house you worthless bitch!" He stepped forward to slap Ivy's across the cheek.

Ivy brought her hands up to block her father's slap and said, "You're not my dad. Daddy would never say those things. This is all just a dream. None of it is real."

"Ivy, I missed you." Ivy's mother whispered. "Please…stop acting like this. Get back to the ordinary Ivy I know and love."

"Ordinary?" Ivy growled. "I am NOT just 'ordinary' anymore. I have a role now. One that involves finding Alice Liddell and making all of Wonderland my friends. I am not just Ivy Cainz, poster child for normality anymore." Ivy's eyes blazed in determination, and she snapped, "I'm Ivy Cainz, the girl with the Role of Detective in Wonderland!"

Ivy didn't know where that line came from. The Role of Detective? That didn't exist. Ivy guessed that she was a bit full of herself in her dreams.

"Ivy…" Molly looked at Ivy pleadingly. "Come back…""None of this is real!" Ivy yelled, slamming her fist into the wall behind her. It hurt, but Ivy didn't care. "I'll come back once I've fulfilled my purpose in Wonderland. And when I do, you'll finally be proud of me." Ivy refused to start crying in front of these made up versions of her loved ones.

"That's it! Get out of my house this instant you whore!" Ivy's father roared, raising his hand to slap her once more. This time as his hand came rushing down at her, Ivy just stood there waiting for it to make contact with her face. But before it hit her, a familiar voice said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Her father froze, as did her mother and Molly. "Remember Ivy; if it's a dream you really dislike, you can always tell it to stop."

All the familiar surroundings around Ivy disappeared and suddenly she was in a field of wildflowers. A summer breeze tousled her hair, and the sunshine highlighted every detail. Ivy spun around to met Nightmare's eyes. "Why…did you stop that dream?"

"I thought you wanted it to stop." Nightmare replied in surprise. He wasn't wearing his usual attire-instead he wore a white shirt and grey pants that looked like they were made of cotton. Nightmare's soft silvery hair was messy and sticking up everywhere. "Didn't you?"

"I…" Ivy looked down and clenched her hand. "I don't know."

"Dreams show us our inner demons. They show us what we're really afraid of, even if we don't know it ourselves." Nightmare slowly walked over to Ivy and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I guess that you're afraid what will happen when you return home, aren't you?"

"Yes." Ivy whispered back. "I don't know if ten years have passed, or ten minutes, or ten days since I've been in Wonderland." She crouched down and shrugged Nightmare's slender hand off her shoulder. "What's going to happen when I get back home, Nightmare?"

"Do you want my honest opinion?"

Ivy nodded.

Nightmare sat down so that he could meet Ivy's eye-level. "Frankly, I have no clue. Keep in mind, this is my only Game. I don't know what happens to Outsiders after they go back home when they've done what they arrived in Wonderland to do."

"Oh." Ivy blinked and looked down. She traced circles in the fine dust on the ground. "So you don't know how much time has passed while I've been here?"

"No. I'm afraid not." Nightmare answered. "Ivy, do you…want to talk? About how you feel being brought into all of this? I know there's some part of you that's unhappy with everything. If you want to talk, I'm here. I swear it."

"I…" Ivy knew the tears were coming and she knew there was no way in hell that she was going to keep them from falling. "I'm confused about everything. I don't know…what to do!" And then she was crying, sobbing big fat tears and shaking hard and fast.

Nightmare didn't seem to care about getting snot on his nice white shirt. He wrapped his arms around Ivy as if he handled hysterical human girls all the time and whispered in her ear, "Shhh…it's going to be all right. Just let it all out."

"I love being here in Wonderland," Ivy whispered. "But I really miss home. I hate the fact that it feels as if everyone here just sees me as the girl who will find your precious Alice." Ivy hated how bitter she sounded. "I'm worried that if I never find Alice that all of you will hate me forever, when I just want all of you to like me for the person I am." Ivy sobbed into Nightmare's shoulder, taking in his musky cologne-filled scent. "I hate how I'm so selfish about this! I should feel so happy that I was the one chosen to find Alice for you guys, because it means that I get to finally be in Wonderland like I've always dreamt about ever since I watched the classic cartoon movie of it."

"Ivy," Nightmare said softly, stroking her hair. "It's okay if you feel like that. I wouldn't put it past you. But those who live in Wonderland…we don't really think about those with hearts. Listen to me." Nightmare grabbed Ivy's hand and led her to his chest. "Listen." Ivy did and even though she was expecting it, it was still a shock to hear the rhythmic ticking of a clock instead of the steady beating of a heart inside someone. "Some of us are more gifted than others with the ability to understand true 'life,' but…" Nightmare smiled sadly. "None of us in Wonderland are truly 'human'. I've had the fortune of being more alive than others, but some of the Role Holders hate what they are."

"Like Ace, right?" Ivy asked. Now that she had spilled her darkest thoughts to Nightmare, the tears were slowly stopping. "And he's kind of crazy because of it."

"Yes. Like Ace." Nightmare nodded. "He also hates the idea of Roles. I think it would be better if he had lived in your world. Actually, all of us would. But," Nightmare sighed. "We can't control what the Game has in store for us."

"I'm sorry, Nightmare." Ivy wiped her eyes. "I didn't mean to break down like this. I didn't mean for you to find out that I'm a complete bitch in this way."

"You're not a complete bitch." Nightmare chuckled slightly. "You're just a girl who's been thrown into an odd situation and you've finally gotten the courage to show it." He gently stroked Ivy's cheek, and she blushed.

"U-um…" Ivy stammered and looked down. "Thanks…for not hating me."

"I could never hate you, Ivy." Nightmare said quietly. "I can't hate you because you've become one of my best friends."

"Friends, huh?" Ivy smiled softly. "I like that. I like the idea of being the friend of the bad-ass dream incubus of Wonderland."

"There's the Ivy I know." Nightmare said proudly. He gave Ivy another squeeze and let go. "Just remember that if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm right here. And if you'd rather do it in a dream, just say the word and I'll be happy to oblige."

_Do it in a dream…_Ivy went bright red as her mind processed that thought in a totally inappropriate way. _Why the hell did I have to make that sentence dirty? Especially after I just cried my eyes out in Nightmare's arms…I'm a bad person._ Ivy wanted to smack herself for being such an idiot.

But then she smiled a bit and, despite herself, she thought_ But it does sound kind of fun…and kinky…to do it in a dream-Okay, I'm going to shut my mind up now._

"Ivy? What are you thinking?" Nightmare asked. "You have a weird smile on your face."

"Um…nothing…" Ivy said slowly, remembering that Nightmare could read minds in the dream world. It was a good thing that she had somehow managed to build up a way to block his abilities, because he would be so disgusted with her if Nightmare could hear what Ivy was thinking.

"Maybe I should come clean with you about something…" Nightmare looked embarrassed and guilty suddenly. He looked down and said, "I…lied. About my mind-reading abilities. I can actually read minds anytime and anywhere, and it's not exhausting at all."

"Why would you lie about that?" Ivy blushed even harder, thinking to herself about all the times that Nightmare must have heard her thinking slightly dirty thoughts about him.

"Because I didn't want you to freak out." Nightmare replied, looking sheepish and adorable at the same time. Seeing Ivy's distraught face, he added quickly, "B-but I haven't listened to your thoughts! Just that one time in your dream when you being held prisoner by the Joker. I have morals, Ivy."

"Good." Ivy heaved a huge relieved sigh.

Nightmare smirked then, looking devious. "Why do you sound so relieved about that? Have you been thinking naughty thoughts about me and you were freaking out because you thought I heard them?"

Nightmare really wasn't expecting Ivy's reaction to his joke when she turned even redder than before and threw a handful of flowers at him yelling "SHUT UP YOU PERVERT!"

"I was kidding, I swear!" Nightmare defended himself, covering his head with his arms. "Come one Ivy, just take a joke!"

"It's not a joke, because it wasn't funny. Jokes are supposed to be funny." Ivy huffed, ceasing with her flower attack. She crossed her arms, her face still flushed with indignant humiliation. "And that WAS NOT funny."

"I get it, I get it." Nightmare muttered. Then he looked at her expression and couldn't help laughing good naturedly. "Sorry, Ivy. I was just poking fun at you. I don't like seeing you all down like this. I prefer the happy, upbeat Ivy that is always ready to take on the world."

Ivy pouted but sighed and grinned back. "Okay. I guess I'll bring her back then." Ivy stood up from her spot amongst the many varieties of wildflowers and spread her arms wide. "From now on, I will try even harder to find Alice. It's my duty. And I want t make all of you as happy as I can. If that means getting Alice back, I'll do it. Even if I'm a little jealous of her because of all the attention she gets." Ivy gave a strained smile, and sighed. "But it would be worth it. Because I got to spend such a wonderful time here in this wonderful wonder world known as Wonderland. Thank you so much Nightmare.""For what?" Nightmare replied in a surprised tone.

"For bringing me here. I will never stop trying to repay you for what you've done. I swear it." Ivy promised sternly.

Nightmare smiled and picked a small white flower from the millions of other flora. He stood up also and very gently placed it behind Ivy's ear. "You make me wish it had been you who was the original 'Alice' to come here sometimes, Ivy." Nightmare murmured wistfully.

Ivy flushed and stammered, "W-what do you m-mean?""It's nothing. Just the ramblings of a tired man." Nightmare patted Ivy's head as if she were a child and said, "Better get rested up. When you're all good to go, Gray and I are going to take you outside the countries to the wastelands. The Jokers both said that they saw Alice and some mysterious figure just outside the borders, right? Maybe we can find something. Is that okay?"

Breathless from the close proximity between the two of them, Ivy could only respond with a feeble nod. Then, clearing her throat, she whispered, "Yep. Fine by me. Think you can teach me some of your kick-ass ninja moves you pulled on the Jokers before we head out? If I'm going to get kidnapped again, I would very much appreciate it if I had a way to defend myself."

Nightmare laughed loudly, his shoulders shaking with amusement. He nodded. "Of course. I'm always eager to show someone my 'bad-ass ninja moves' as you so delicately put it."

Ivy grinned. "Yes! I've always wanted to be a ninja!"

"Really?"

"Actually, no. When I was younger I wanted to be the Queen of Hearts due to my obsession with anything _Alice_ _In_ _Wonderland_ oriented." Ivy admitted bashfully. "There was a time when I was twelve and I became obsessed with this anime/manga series called _Naruto_. I wanted to become a ninja THEN. But that phase lasted for less than a year."

"That sounds interesting. Tell me more." Nightmare said with interest.

"Uh…about what?"

"Your childhood, of course! If we're going to be friends, we should know more about each other's pasts." Nightmare responded kindly.

"Oh…I guess you're right." Ivy shuffled her feet, sat down in the grass, and began to recall the events of her life from her very first memory.

And Nightmare sat there, listening intently with an undeniably sexy expression on his face.

**Next chapter I will start out with some of Ivy's past, so it will be a continuation of where I left off in this chapter. Sorry for the shortness, but I was just trying to make this chapter IvyXNightmare fluff and have Ivy finally tell Nightmare about her true fears. **

**So, you'll get to know more about her "completely ordinary" life! Yaaaay! And then after the whole flashback stuff I am going to try to make this story more actiony and mysterious and whatnot. Hope I do all right…**

**Reviews and ideas are always welcome, and I hope you all have a great summer! Everyone who has read this so far…you guys are what has kept me going. I love you all, and I truly can't thank you enough.**


	8. Desert Mirages

**OMG! This story has gone over 40 reviews! *Throws confetti* THANK YOU SO MUCH! I love you all! For that, this chapter will have special moments…well, I hope that everyone thinks they are special moments. Now I'll shut up so we can get on with the actual story. ^-^**

**Chapter Eight**

"Ugh…I hate deserts. There's nothing but sand!"

"Quit complaining, Lord Nightmare. You've been doing nothing else since we left the Tower of Clover."

"But Graaaay! It's in my nature to complain!"

"It is not, you're just being a baby!"

"And you're just being an asshole who isn't concerned for his employer. Meany!"

"Lord Nightmare, I swear to God, if you don't shut the hell up, I will take that oversized cloak you're wearing for protection from the sun and SHOVE IT UP YOUR SORRY ASS."

"…IVY! GRAY THREATENED ME!"

"NIGHTMARE! SHUT UP!"

Ivy laughed so hard at Nightmare and Gray's argument that her sides were hurting. She held her sides and laughed even harder as Nightmare started to fake-cry at Gray's unsympathetic face. The three had left for the wastelands of Wonderland a few hours before, after Ivy had woken up from her much-needed nap. Ivy and Nightmare had grown closer after Ivy had told him about her childhood. Nightmare had stayed inside her dream and listened attentively, comforting her or laughing along with her when she needed him to. Ivy sighed happily as she remembered the previous events:

"I've always been ordinary. Nothing too special, nothing too bad. I'm an only child and my parents are both hardworking people. My dad really isn't that harsh, I guess that my dreams-self is really worried about how he's going to react when I get back." Ivy began, sitting in the meadow of the dream world. Nightmare was right next to her, and every time he moved his legs brushed against Ivy's.

"Well, just so you know, if your father is ever that much of a bastard to you, I will personally give him so many nightmares that he will never want to go back to sleep." Nightmare vowed sincerely. His silver eyes looked right into Ivy's, and she couldn't help blushing.

"U-um…thanks." Ivy nodded. She continued, "I have a best friend named Molly-she's that other girl you saw. Molly is really smart and nice; I'm so glad she's my friend. I love to read, and I have a dream to write my own novel someday." Ivy racked her brain for something else to tell Nightmare. "I really enjoy listening to any type of music even though I can't sing worth a crap. I have a fetish for watching romantic comedies if I can't fall asleep. Normally they help me to get to sleep."

"Are you an insomniac?" Nightmare asked in a teasing voice.

"Well…normally, I am. But while I've been here, everything has exhausted me to the extreme. I've been able to fall asleep without a problem." Ivy answered. "But yeah, back home…sleep and I are bitter rivals."

"If that ever happens here, I'm sure I can help you with that." Nightmare suggestive. He scooted closer to Ivy, and Ivy couldn't help noticing that Nightmare seemed to be flirting with her. Then again, she had never really been in a "romantic" situation before, so she didn't really know how guys would normally flirt. "I AM a dream demon, after all."

"Thanks, Nightmare. Really. You're always so nice to me, and I have no idea how to repay you." Ivy smiled softly.

"Just do your best to find Alice. Even after you find her-and I know you will-I'll still consider you one of my best friends." Nightmare grinned sexily. Ivy wondered if Nightmare was unaware of just how hot he was. She suspected he did, the way he kept smiling sexily that way he did.

"I guess being on good terms with a dream demon will have its benefits, huh?" Ivy laughed.

"So you think of me only as a 'friend with benefits' Ivy?" Nightmare pouted, and Ivy's face burned bright red. He sniffed and wiped his eyes. "You're almost as cruel as Gray! Next thing I know, you'll be trying to force a spoonful of some ghastly medication down my throat!"

"I never said that! You're twisting my words around, Nightmare!" Ivy yelled. She would never admit it, but the sight of a cowering Nightmare being force-fed a spoonful of medicine put a very dirty image in her mind, and she was thankful that she had the ability to block Nightmare's memory reading skills.

"I know. I just enjoy teasing you. You're too uptight sometimes!" Nightmare laughed, abandoning the sad and helpless child act. "No wonder Gray enjoys your company so much; you and him have the same serious mood a lot of the time. If you don't watch yourself, he might drag you into an abandoned room one of these days when I'm not around!"

Ivy just stared at Nightmare.

"…Eh…too soon after that almost-rape you got from the Joker?"

"What the hell do you think?"

"…Sorry, Ivy. I was just kidding."

After Ivy had woken up, Nightmare was waiting for her outside her room. He had told her that while she was sleeping, Gray had gone off to the other Role-Holders and told them what the Joker had Ivy. The Role-Holders were shocked at the possibility that Alice was wandering the inhabited, most dangerous parts of Wonderland. Gray had asked if any of them were willing to go with them, but none of them had wanted to. The other Role-Holders had things to do, and not all of them were keen on the idea of traveling with the new Outsider. (Mostly Blood and Peter, but that's because they were just big douche bags.) It wasn't that they didn't like Ivy, it was just that a lot of the Role-Holders were afraid of being around another girl other than Alice.

Now Gray, Nightmare, and Ivy were on the edge of the wastelands. Their plan was to travel for about a week in Wonderland's time and, if they didn't find any more clues pertaining to Alice, they would travel back to the Tower of Clover and devise a different plan of action. Each member of the party was carrying a bag of supplies, and Nightmare and Gray had made sure they brought their weapons. Ivy felt a bit left out because she herself didn't have any type of weapon.

Nightmare was being a bit of a baby because the part of the wastelands that the group was traveling through at the moment was a desert. Nightmare's pale complexion and weak disposition and the sun didn't really go together well, so he was forced to his heavy black cloak once more. However, due to the heavy material, Nightmare got hot easily in it. And because of that, he was making damn sure that he found any way possible to annoy the hell out of poor Gray.

And Ivy, frankly, was enjoying every moment of it.

"Lord Nightmare, please," Gray pleaded. "Just deal with this quietly. I know you're uncomfortable, but you were the one who insisted on coming along with me. I voted to go with Ivy by myself, but no. The Demon of Dreams just had to prove his bravery and accompany us."

"Fine. I'll try to be quiet. But what if I have to take a bathroom break?" Nightmare asked, smirking like the smart-ass he was. "Can I talk to let you know, or do I have to keep quiet and go potty in my pants?"

"Don't play smart with me, young man. You may be my employer, but that doesn't mean I can't slap you around a bit if you start to annoy me." Gray growled.

Ivy was now on the ground, literally rolling and laughing. Between laughter, she gasped, "You guys are WAY better than cable! Please, stop, or else I'LL be the one to pee my pants, I swear it!"

"I'm glad we're here for your entertainment, Ivy." Nightmare said smugly. He gave Gray a look that said, "Told you so." Gray rolled his eyes and continued walking ahead of Ivy and Nightmare. "You're cute when you laugh, you know that?"

Ivy blushed, and wanted to take her head off and shake it. She was really starting to get annoyed with Nightmare because he always made her blush with those kinds of comments, but on the other hand she was glad he said things like that. Ivy was happy that a guy like Nightmare took the time to flirt with her…if that was what flirting was, anyway. "Shut up, Nightmare."

"GRAY! IVY TOLD ME TO SHUT UP!" Nightmare sobbed. "She's so mean!"

Gray didn't answer; he just kept walking. Nightmare frowned and muttered to Ivy, "Aw…he's no fun anymore. Guess I've annoyed him too much for today. Now he'll just ignore me. But there's always tomorrow~!" Nightmare sang the last bit gleefully, and Ivy couldn't help giggling when Gray stiffened as he walked.

The next few minutes consisted of awkward silence as Ivy, Nightmare, and Gray all walked further and further into the wastelands. The scenery was the same from as far as Ivy's eyes could see: nothing but sand, save for a few struggling shrubs and the occasional rock. The sun was bearing down hotly, and the ground was rough under Ivy's feet. She felt as if she was hiking in Mexico or Egypt. Ivy yawned and blinked rapidly when her vision seemed to blur for a moment. Ivy shook her head and, as her vision cleared once more, she thought she saw a figure off in the distance. It disappeared very quickly, but there was no mistaking what that had resembled: a teenage girl. Was it just a coincidence? Ivy had heard of people seeing mirages and whatnot in the desert, and she started to worry. Had she just seen a mirage brought upon by the heat? Or had that…had that been Alice Liddell?

"Did you guys see anything just now?" Ivy questioned Nightmare and Gray. The two Clover denizens looked back at Ivy, then to each other, and shook their heads no.

"No…" Nightmare said slowly. "Did you, Ivy?"

"I…I think so."

"What did you see?" Gray asked.

Ivy gulped and cleared her throat. "I know you guys might think I'm crazy, but…I think I just saw Alice."

Nightmare and Gray stared at her in disbelief. "Alice? Like, the Alice we're desperately trying to locate?" Nightmare clarified.

"Yeah." Ivy nodded. She felt awkward under their heated stares. _Maybe I should have just kept quiet._ Ivy thought.

"Where do you think you saw her at?" Gray asked. "Just point in the general direction."

Ivy pointed straight ahead of herself. "About a hundred feet away. I swear I saw her, blue dress and all. But maybe I'm just getting heatstroke and the desert is playing tricks on me." Ivy shuddered to herself. In a way, if it was just a mirage, Ivy would be glad about it. After the "lovely" visit she had gotten from the hundreds of Alice look-a-likes while unconscious in the Joker's cell, meeting the real Alice didn't really sit with her well. Ivy knew her role was to find Alice Liddell, but she didn't want to just yet. Not after her horrible experience with the Alice clones.

"Okay. We'll just trust your vision for now and go that way." Gray decided.

"Wait, how do you guys know we're not getting lost or something?" Ivy asked in a frightened tone. The realization had just hit her; they were traveling in some sort of God-forsaken land without any map or guide. Ivy was pretty sure that if they lost their way, there was no way in hell she'd ever see her parents' faces ever again. Or the rest of Wonderland for that matter.

"Relax, Ivy. Gray is an amazing tracker. He can find his way back to the Tower in no time, believe me." Nightmare reassured Ivy. As Gray marched ahead of them at a quick gait, Nightmare leaned close to Ivy's side and whispered into her ear, "I don't think you know this, but before Gray worked for me, he was an assassin. He has abilities beyond your imagination. He's an extremely ruthless fighter, and his sense of navigation is amazing. Gray doesn't like to talk about those days though, so if I were you I wouldn't bring it up."

"Wow. Really?" Ivy looked at Gray's figure, which was quickly gaining more distance between her and Nightmare. "The manga never let on to that."

"Yeah, well, I guess your manga doesn't know us as well as we do." Nightmare chuckled. "Gray's past career as a deadly assassin is one of the reasons he's so cold sometimes…and it just makes him easier to tease and annoy. I know, I'm an evil boss. Muahahaha-ack…oh crap…koff, koff…" Nightmare's mock-evil laughter turned into hacking coughs as he bent down on his knees and coughed up dark red blood onto the rocky terrain. Nightmare's whole body began to rack with coughs as he weakly flopped down onto the ground, hacking up another glob of pink saliva. The incubus went paler than usual and weakly muttered, "Water…"

Ivy, trying not to freak out, slung her backpack off her shoulder and rummaged through it to find Nightmare a water bottle. She handed it to Nightmare but, seeing that his coughing fit had made him pretty weak, Ivy held the back of Nightmare's head and tipped the water into his open mouth. She couldn't resist noting the soft, silky feel of his silver hair, nor could Ivy contain herself from breathing in Nightmare's scent. She felt like a pervert, technically taking advantage of the sick man while she basically raped him with her eyesight. "Gray!" Ivy yelled as she continued to hold Nightmare's head. "Get your ass over here! Nightmare had another coughing attack-a really bad one!"

Gray raced over to the two of them, and Ivy could now see evidence that he used to be basically a ninja warrior. His no-nonsense attitude, his fast reflexes, the way he could quickly assess any situation…Gray was like the freaking Terminator! …Minus the heavy Russian accent and the robotic appendages.

"Lord Nightmare!" Gray dug out a washcloth from his bag and poured a bit of water on it, then started to dab at the specks of blood still clinging to Nightmare's mouth. He instructed Ivy to hold Nightmare's head up a bit more so that Gray could peer down his throat just in case it was damaged. Ivy complied, not liking the worry that had taken over Gray's face. "I told you not to come." Gray muttered angrily when he decided that Nightmare hadn't sustained any injuries to his throat during the coughing fit. "I told you that this could happen! Strenuous activity makes you get these attacks easier!"

"Had to…find Alice too…" Nightmare tried to grin, but it looked more like a grimace. Ivy grabbed the hood of his cloak and tugged it down over his eyes so that the sun didn't shine in them so badly. "I couldn't…let you two have all the fun."

"Nightmare, maybe you should go back so you don't strain yourself too much," Ivy said, worried about his health. "I mean, you're already half passed out and we've only been traveling for a few hours-"

"No!" Nightmare yelled, wincing when the shout hurt his now-sensitive ears. In a quieter tone, he said, "I made a promise to a friend…that I'd protect her." Nightmare looked up at Ivy pointedly, and she blinked in shock. "I won't leave you, Ivy. Ever." Nightmare turned his gaze to Gray. "And I brought her here to find Alice; the least I can do is help her with that large task."

Gray's expression hardened, the concern for his boss hidden beneath the steely surface of his eyes. "I understand, Lord Nightmare. But you need to rest for today-no more walking." Gray hefted Nightmare's weak and still trembling body onto his back. "Ivy, I will carry Lord Nightmare until we can find some place to stop at to set up camp for the night. Can you take Nightmare's bag, along with your own? Or will that be too heavy? If it is, I will take his bag too."

Ivy picked up Nightmare's bag from the desert ground and hefted it over one shoulder. It was heavy when she had both her bag AND Nightmare's, but Ivy didn't want to tell Gray that. He had enough on his plate with carrying Nightmare. "Nope! I'm fine. You just deal with Nightmare, okay?"

Gray nodded. He started to walk at a faster gait than he had before, and Ivy was amazed at his stamina. _He's a ninja. Hands down._ Ivy thought to herself. As she trudged along behind Gray, Ivy became aware that she was staring at both Nightmare's backside AND Gray's. She shook her head, thinking angrily_ BAD IVY! Don't stare at Gray AND Nightmare! You like Nightmare. So if you're gonna stare at someone, stare at HIM._

…

_Oh crap. I think I'm starting to fall for Gray a bit somehow too._

Ivy made a small "eep" noise in the back of her throat. She couldn't believe herself-she was beginning to feel something for Gray also. Granted, it wasn't too hard, what with his equally handsome face like Nightmare's and his strength. Ivy was disgusted with herself. If she was going to have a crush on someone in Wonderland, it was going to be only ONE guy. Not two. Or three. Or how many other guys there were here. Nightmare was the man for Ivy-Gray was just a friend.

A pretty damn handsome friend at that, though.

_If I EVER get my hands on the creators of this series, I'm going to sue their asses off for creating such a hot and lovable male cast. …okay, no I won't, I'll hug them and tell them that they are brilliant. But all the bishie-ness is still really infuriating. Thank God I'm not a total rabid fan girl, or else I would have raped Nightmare by now-OH MY GOD, I NEED TO STOP THINKING. NOW._

Ivy was aware that her face was probably burning from the little mental fight she was having with herself, so she looked down to avoid Gray or Nightmare noticing it. Ivy suddenly heard Nightmare moan though, and she looked up quickly to see what was the matter. Gray had stopped and was saying something quietly to Nightmare. Nightmare's face was contorted in pain, and he moaned through gritted teeth, "But I hate that crap!"

"Lord Nightmare, please. You're worrying Ivy to death with this, and I think it'd be best if you would cooperate for once." Gray rebuked the dream demon softly, noticing that Ivy was listening. "Ivy, can you get the silver bottle that says 'Drink Me' from Nightmare's bag?"

Ivy did so, but she was puzzled. _In the original __Alice in Wonderland,__ isn't this the stuff that makes Alice small? So why would Gray need it?_ Ivy handed the sleek container to Gray, who uncorked it and poured the entire contents down Nightmare's open throat. Nightmare made a face, but his expression suddenly turned from disgust to silly happiness. Nightmare looked down at Ivy from his perch on Gray's back, smiled widely, and said "Ivy, you're so pretty…You're my pretty little flower…NIGHT MOM!" And then the feared master of the Tower of Clover's head fell onto Gray's shoulder asleep, a thin line of drool already seeping out of his snoring mouth.

"…what the hell did you just give Nightmare?" Ivy asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. Nightmare had called her pretty though, so whatever it was, Ivy thought it would be nice if Gray could give him that stuff more often.

"Special medicine. It makes Lord Nightmare pass out right away." Gray grunted. He shifted Nightmare's weight and gestured to the bag he had over one shoulder. "This is as good as a place to stop as anywhere else here. In my bag is a tent; we're going to make camp for tonight. Can you please get that out?"

Ivy nodded and stuck her hand down the bag, rummaged through it, and pulled out a triangular piece of clothe. Staring at it, she said, "THIS is the tent?"

"It grows."

"Huh?"

"Just watch." Gray nodded at the fabric Ivy held in her hand, and suddenly it began to shake. Ivy yelped and dropped it on the floor, where it stuck and started to elongate. When it was about 20 feet wide, the fabric suddenly sprang up into a tent about 12 feet tall. Ivy stared at it in shock. Then, turning to Gray with a gaping mouth, she exclaimed, "How'd it do that?"

"Just the one of the wonders of Wonderland, I guess." Gray gave Ivy a rare smile, and Ivy couldn't help noticing the warm fuzzy feeling she got when he did so. Gray stepped into the tent, beckoning for Ivy to follow. Inside the tent it was spacious and warm. Ivy was amazed at how big it was. Gray shrugged his bag off his shoulder and pointed at it. "There are sleeping bags and what not in there. Do you mind getting them out?"

"Not at all." Ivy pulled out a pile of blankets and three sleeping bags. "I'll set these up so you can keep Nightmare off the floor until it's done, okay?" Gray nodded, and Ivy hopped to it. She spread out two blankets across the bottom of the tent as kind of a cushion, and then placed the three sleeping bags in a row on top of that. Ivy put two pillows at the head of each sleeping bag and, for extra measure, draped a thin blanket across each one as well. Ivy stood up and looked at her handiwork. "Well, I always have wanted to go camping out in the middle of nowhere. Guess this is a good as time as any." She joked lightly.

Gray didn't say anything. He simply slid Nightmare's body off of his back and gently placed him inside the sleeping bag on the far right. Gray made sure Nightmare was all situated and turned to Ivy. "I'm going outside for a smoke. Watch him, will you?" Ivy nodded, and Gray walked outside of the tent.

Ivy stared at the sleeping and vulnerable Nightmare. His pale face wasn't squelched in pain so much, and his breathing was much more even. Ignoring the mental cries in her head of "RAPE HIM DAMMIT!" Ivy brushed a stray lock of silver hair away from Nightmare's face. His eye patch was still on, and Ivy didn't know if she should leave it on or take it off. She hoped Gray would be able to answer that. Ivy's breath caught in her throat as she gazed upon the ill dream incubus. _It's my fault. He came along because I'm so damn weak, and he wanted to protect me. It's my fault Nightmare got so sick. I'm a horrible person that doesn't even deserve to exist._

"Yes. You are."

Ivy leapt up in shock to see Alice Liddell sitting cross-legged behind her. The older girl's pretty face was smiling benevolently at Ivy, her brown hair perfectly brushed. Alice's dress looked pressed and devoid of any speck of dirt. "A-a-a-a-a-a-ALICE?" Ivy stammered. She rubbed her eyes, thinking it was just a mirage brought upon by worry and exhaustion, but Alice was still there.

"Hello, Ivy Cainz." Alice tilted her head at Ivy. "My, my. You're quite ugly, aren't you? Weak and pathetic too. I fail to see why Nightmare and Gray have taken such an interest in you."

Ivy stared at the girl in shock. She reached out to touch Alice's arm, just to make sure she wasn't just some dream apparition like before. When Ivy's hand made contact with warm skin, Ivy closed her eyes in disbelief. This really was Alice. "How are you…" Ivy trailed off, not really knowing what she wanted to say.

"I'm fine, thank you. A little perturbed because you're touching me with those filthy worthless hands of yours." Alice smacked Ivy's hands away as if she was just an annoying fly. "Honestly, the nerve of some people."

"Why are you here?" Ivy managed to ask. Her throat was going dry. _Shouldn't I shout for Gray to get in here?_

"No, you shouldn't." Alice glared at Ivy with caramel-brown eyes. Her fetching face suddenly turned sinister. "Because he won't believe you."

"Y-you…can read my mind?" Ivy stammered.

Alice smiled, showing oddly-sharp teeth. "Yes. Now, I believe you asked why am I here? Simple! Because I wanted to see the little slut who's going to 'save me'. Ahahaha!" Alice chuckled darkly, her tittering grazing Ivy's eardrums and making her wince. How was Gray not hearing any of this?

And then Ivy realized something. On Alice's right hand in bloody red was a print of a rose. Alice didn't have any weird marks like that, nor did she act like such a brazen little bitch! "You're not Alice." Ivy growled. "Who the fuck are you?"

The Alice imposter frowned as if her favorite toy had been broken. "Oh, phooey. You got me." Her expression turned suddenly frighteningly crazed, and bloodlust loomed in her eyes. "I may not be THE Alice, but I am A Alice." The odd woman threw her head back and laughed. "Have a looksie at my true form!" And then she changed.

Gone was the blue dress Alice wore. Gone was the perfectly straight brown hair. Gone was everything else that made Alice "Alice." Instead, there was a harshly beautiful woman with dark red hair that reached her ankles with glowing blood red eyes. She wore a tight skin-fitting black tank top that was low cut to show the tops of her breasts, and a silvery-black Goth miniskirt. On her legs were ripped white fishnet stockings, and her shoes were heavy black combat boots. But what shocked Ivy the most was the leathery, black, demonic pair of wings that sprouted from her back. The woman laughed again, a haunting sound. "You looked positively confused, Ivy dear!"

"What the hell are you?" Ivy demanded. She scooted closer to Nightmare's sleeping form. No matter what, she would protect him.

"I am the Alice of Temptation. Call me Rose." She swayed her hips suggestively and showed off the rose tattoo on her hand. "And I'm here to let you in on something: give this up. Our Master wants the Alice you're looking for very badly, you know. So badly that if you continue this fruitless search, you will be dealt with. And by 'dealt with' I mean killed, of course." Rose shoved Ivy away and knelt down at Nightmare's side.

"Don't touch him, you bitch!" Ivy screamed. Vines with sharp thorns suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around Ivy's body. The thorns dug into her skin, drawing pricks of blood, and Ivy winced at the stinging pain. "Dammit! Let me go!" Rose heads bloomed on the vine, flowers with sharp teeth that seemed to want to rip into Ivy's flesh and chew her to a skeleton. Ivy whimpered in the back of her throat and said again, this time more plaintively, "Let me go…"

Rose waggled her finger at Ivy. "I don't think so. How fitting-your name is Ivy, and you're being trapped by vines. You need a time out, a punishment for coming this far. But what shall it be…? Ah! I know!" Rose grinned, showing her sharp teeth, and was suddenly kissing Nightmare very noisily and sexily on the lips. Ivy couldn't look away. She just stared in horror as the Alice impersonator practically molested the unconscious Nightmare.

"Stop it…" Ivy whispered. "Stop it right now!"

Rose broke away from Nightmare, her demonic wings fluttering. Her red eyes glimmered maliciously, and she pouted. "But why? I was just giving poor Nightmare some pleasure!"

As if on cue, Nightmare moaned and said loudly in his sleep, "Alice…I love you…."

Ivy felt tears bristling in her eyes. "Get the hell out." She whispered stonily. Then, a little louder, Ivy said "Get the hell out and NEVER come back!"

"Hah hah! You're so adorable when you're angry. Like a little piglet who didn't get enough to eat." Rose licked her lips and moaned suggestively. "Mmm. Nightmare tasted delicious. I'll make sure to add him to my list of good bedtime snacks."

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!" Ivy screeched loudly, throwing herself at the demonic temptress. Rose giggled and disappeared into thin air, making Ivy crash into the fabric wall of the tent. Gray stormed in, cigarette in hand, with a anxious look on his face.

"Ivy! What the hell is going on?" Gray demanded, seeing Ivy pick herself up from the floor. "I heard you screaming…why?"

"There was someone here, Gray!" Ivy exploded. She ran up to him, getting in his face. "I thought it was Alice at first, but then she changed into some sex pot of a chick and said she was the Alice of Temptation, whatever the hell that means! She called herself Rose and said that if we continued searching for Alice Liddell, we would be killed! And then she…and then she…" Ivy couldn't stop the tears from falling from her eyes and she sank against Gray's sturdy chest and moaned in horror, "She started kissing Nightmare…"

Gray looked shocked as he held the sobbing Ivy, obviously unaccustomed to holding hysterically crying women while also trying to balance a cigarette in one hand.

"I-Ivy, it's all right. She's gone now, whoever she was." Gray said. He tentatively stroked Ivy's black hair for a brief second as if to comfort her.

"But didn't you hear her?" Ivy asked, sniffling.

"No. I just heard you talking to yourself, then you screamed. I had to see what was going on."

"You think I'm crazy now, don't you?" Ivy wiped her eyes and stepped back from Gray's arms. She couldn't help but notice how amazing he looked, nor how shiny his greenish-black hair was.

"I…no. I don't. I believe you." Gray looked down, his gaze darkening. "I also believe there are darker forces toying with us than we thought. This may be too dangerous."

"We have to keep going, though. We just have to. Please, Gray," Ivy pleaded softly, looking up at him with tearful eyes. "We have to finish this."

Gray sighed. "I agree with you. I'm just apprehensive about bringing you and Lord Nightmare into this ordeal." He gestured to the sleeping bags with his free hand and threw the cigarette out the tent flap. "Let's get some sleep. We have a lot of decisions to make tomorrow, and we're going to need all the rest we can get." Ivy noticed that it was suddenly night, and just how badly she wanted to sleep after her encounter with the woman named Rose.

She settled down into the middle sleeping bah because Gray had taken the other one and gulped as Gray turned off the oil lamp he had hung from the tent's ceiling. In the dark of the desert night, everything seemed like it wanted to swallow Ivy up into a tunnel of endless shadows and never spit her back out. Ivy shivered against the frigid desert night air and snuggled farther down into her sleeping bag. Awhile later, when she heard Gray's snoring, Ivy tentatively scooted closer to where Nightmare lay.

Ivy gently ran a finger down Nightmare's arm. The dream incubus snorted but didn't do anything else and kept on sleeping. Gulping, Ivy leaned over Nightmare's face and, being careful as to not let any locks of her hair brush against him, brought her face mere centimeters away from Nightmare's. Ivy wetted her lips. Running a hand down his smooth face, Ivy whispered softly, "I love you Nightmare. I don't know id you can hear this, but if you can…do me a favor and at least kiss me once before I leave. Even if you love Alice." Ivy's lips brushed Nightmare's cheek and she continued, "Please don't ever let that awful bitch Rose touch you again. I swear I'll kill her if she ever does."

And, with that, Ivy very softly and quickly pressed her lips against Nightmare's in a goodnight kiss he would never know about before Ivy herself fell asleep.

**HAH! Told you there'd be some special moments. :D And I REALLY wanted Ivy and Nightmare to kiss, but I didn't know how to do it without the whole thing turning awkward, so I created this lovely idea. And yes, there will be more "Alices" appearing throughout this story. They're the antagonists :P (Ooooh, big literary term right there!) Yay for creating more original characters! Well, thanks for reading this far, and I'm sorry this story's going a bit slow. Hopefully with my other current fanfic on hiatus, this will get updated faster. Reviews are welcome and appreciated, and I love you all~! **


	9. Anger Management

**Hello Heart no Kuni no Alice fans everywhere! The trailer for the movie is now on YouTube, and I've watched it so many times that I hear the Joker's laughter in my dreams. O.O I cried so hard with happiness when I watched it the first time, and my mother thought I was hurt. Ehehehe. ANYWAY thanks for giving me 50+ reviews. I really appreciate it. Stay to the end, please~!**

**Chapter Nine**

Ivy was really warm. In fact, she was so warm it was almost uncomfortable. She sleepily felt around for the top of her sleeping bag to throw it off. There was only one problem: Ivy's sleeping bag appeared to be missing completely. So why was she still sweating like a pig? Ivy cracked open one eye to be met with a pale yet handsome face donning a black and gold eye patch, eyes still shut tight in sleep and a continuing trainload of loud snores issuing from its widely open mouth. Ivy blinked and turned around, not really comprehending anything at the moment. On her other side, Ivy came face-to-face with another handsome profile, this one with a lizard tattoo on the neck. Ivy grunted and shut her eyes again, mumbling something about needing more sleep. She didn't really care about the too warm blankets on her; she was too exhausted at the moment and just wanted more sleep.

When the "blankets" that were covering her body moved slightly without her touching them, Ivy instantly became fully awake and realized what was going on.

Ivy's eyes shot open and she stared in horror at the scene she found herself in: Nightmare and Gray were both still sleeping peacefully, but no blankets or sleeping bags were found covering them. None at all. Instead, both men were cuddled up right at Ivy's sides, their arms wrapped around her skinny body like clingy hot water bottles. Ivy's face burned as if she had been in a hot tub too long when understood her predicament.

_CRAP! How in the hell am I going to get out of this mess without waking them up?_ Ivy thought to herself furiously. _I mean…I do kind of like it…but it's wrong! It's like taking advantage of them! …Like I did to Nightmare when I kissed him last night…Oh God, what if he remembers that? Or what if he remembers that Rose chick? GAH, I NEED TO STOP THINKING!_ Ivy shook her head as if trying to rid her mind of her thoughts. Very cautiously, Ivy began to slide her way out of Nightmare and Gray's grasp, easing her way out by bracing her arms on the ground in front of herself and pulling her way out. Nightmare suddenly jerked, making an odd snorting noise, but otherwise didn't wake up when Ivy accidentally bumped him in the head with her leg. Gray, on the other hand, was a different story when Ivy unintentionally brushed against his nose with her foot when she was almost out.

Gray's eyes shot open and he looked around wildly. He blinked as if trying to get his sight focused and saw Nightmare snoring like a train wreck and Ivy attempting to slink out of his arms. In an instant the Lizard's face turned a bright red, and he stammered in a whisper so he didn't wake up Nightmare, "I-ivy, what the h-hell?"

"I should be the one asking that," Ivy deadpanned quietly. She gestured to Nightmare with a shake of her head as she finally got herself fully free. "I woke up with you two all over me like dogs on a doggy bed. Do you have any idea how weird it is to wake up like that, Gray?" When Gray didn't answer right away, Ivy yelled in as quiet a tone as she could manage, "It's VERY weird!" She stood up and glared at Gray with a glare like daggers. "Not to mention awkward!"

"I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" Gray said, starting to get up himself. "Neither did Lord Nightmare, I'm sure. It's human nature to seek the nearest warmth whenever we sleep you know."

"Well, thanks for that wonderful little science lesson, Mr. Ringmarc," Ivy snapped. "I'll remember that the next time I share a tent with two guys!"

"Just be glad it wasn't Ace with you, or else you probably wouldn't have woken up a virgin." Gray pointed out, trying to remove the blame from Nightmare and himself.

"I'd be smart enough not to share a tent with Ace."

"…You have a point."

While this argument was going on, Nightmare stirred and blearily blinked his purple eyes open. Noticing Ivy and Gray were already up, the Caterpillar smiled and said in a cheerful voice, "Good morning everyone! Where are we?"

Ivy glared at Nightmare, her eyes seeming to burn with mortified anger. "WE are in the middle of a freaking DESERT in nothing but a TENT, and I was almost MOLESTED by you two in my SLEEP."

Nightmare flinched at Ivy's poisonous tone of voice. He turned to Gray and said in a child-like tone, "Graaaay, Ivy's being mean to me and I only just got up!"

Gray did a face palm and shook his head. "Lord Nightmare, you are one piece of work. You know that?"

"Thanks, I know I'm sexy. You are too, Gray."

"NIGHTMARE!" Ivy screeched, suddenly going into kill mode. "Did you not hear what I just said? I woke up with both of you hugging me for some reason, and we're in the middle of a desert with nothing to eat, and…and…" Ivy's angered tone was starting to slow down into a voice that conveyed a feeling of intense worry. In a hushed whispered, Ivy looked at Nightmare and said, "And you were almost taken away last night."

Nightmare blinked in surprise. "…what?"

"Ivy says there was a woman here who was trying to kill her." Gray said. "I didn't hear anything, though."

"There WAS a girl here last night! She was Alice at first, but then she transformed into some demonic bitch who acted like she was going to rape Nightmare in his sleep, and I couldn't do anything because she had me tied up in rose vines, and," Ivy took a deep breath. "She said that if we continued looking for the real Alice Liddell, we were going to be killed!"

Nightmare stared at Ivy blankly. "I was raped last night?"

"NO!" Ivy exploded. "You ALMOST were! And I was too damn weak to do anything about it. Nightmare, I'm sorry!"

"For what? I'm completely fine."

"I still couldn't do anything to help you. If she'd wanted to, Rose-that girl-could have killed you." Ivy whispered frantically. "And I couldn't DO ANYTHING!" She shouted the last part angrily.

"Ivy, calm down." Gray placed a restraining hand on Ivy's shoulder. "What matters is that you and Lord Nightmare are still here. I know you're mad at yourself, but please. Give yourself more credit. You simply did what you were able to."

"Yeah, scream insults and squirm around in Rose's killer plants." Ivy muttered. "If I at least had a gun, I could have-"

"We draw the line at that, Ivy." Nightmare said firmly. "I don't want you touching the weapons here. I'm sorry, but I just don't want you to have that sort of access to instant death." Nightmare sighed and looked Ivy in the eyes. "Only when you're in dire need, and either Gray or I is there to help, is when you'll be able to tote around a weapon of some sort. Understand?""Fine." Ivy answered. She crossed her arms and said, "What do we do now? The lady from last night said there are more 'Alices' like herself. Do you guys know what that means?"

Gray and Nightmare looked at each other like they knew something Ivy didn't. Finally, Nightmare said carefully, "Maybe. You know how I've told you that this isn't the only 'Game' that's gone on? That there's been more? In each Game, there's a player known as 'Alice.' She comes from the Outside World, and her Role in the Game is to either die or find her way back home. Maybe…these other 'Alices' that woman spoke of…are the past Alices of the Game. Their names weren't necessarily 'Alice,' you know." Nightmare added, seeing Ivy's confused face. "They are simply given that title because of…because of…"

"Because of what?" Ivy asked.

Nightmare shook his head. "You know, I don't remember. The story has been passed down through out Wonderland's history. It's so old that no one really remembers the original legend. All I know is that is has something to do with a girl named Alice who first came here, many millennia ago."

"Is there a book or something with the story?" Ivy asked.

"If there is, it's been in hiding for quite a long time." Gray answered. "Although, since this mystery has gone a lot deeper than any of us expected, it would be nice to have it around."

"Maybe we can find it!" Ivy excitedly suggested. "If we find something that has the original legend of Wonderland's Game, maybe we can figure out how to find Alice and defeat the other Alices! And then I…can go home." Ivy smiled happily when she thought about returning home after she had basically saved an entire world. "It's so Final Fantasy! Where's our Chobocos?"

"What the crap are those?" Gray and Nightmare stared at Ivy in confusion.

Ivy blushed in embarrassment at being caught in the act of total nerdiness. "Um…never mind…it's something from my world." She grabbed her sleeping bag from off the tent floor and began folding it up. "Let's get everything packed up and keep going, 'kay? Maybe we can find something!"

Nightmare and Gray just looked at each other in utter confusion, but neither of them could argue about getting ready to go.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoX**

When the three had gotten the tent packed up and had eaten a meager meal of canned food (because surprisingly Wonderland had a large supply of packaged food) they set off once more into the harsh desert sun. As soon as Nightmare started complaining about the heat and how much his legs were hurting from walking so far, Ivy and Gray knew he was all recovered from his coughing fit the night before.

"I'm glad you're feeling well enough to complain again, Lord Nightmare," Gray said through gritted teeth after Nightmare had whined about how much pain his feet were in for possibly the fiftieth time, "But could you please SHUT THE HELL UP for at least ten minutes?"

Nightmare silently trotted along behind Gray and besides Ivy for at least three minutes before blurting out, "When's lunch? I'm starving!"

"Why do I even bother…?" Gray smacked his forehead in shame and looked up to the sky as if searching for an answer.

"Nightmare, are you sure you're all right?" Ivy asked him quietly. He wasn't as pale as he had been the day before, but Ivy was still worrying about Nightmare. He could pass out from an episode at any given moment without warning, according to Gray.

Nightmare cheerfully smiled. "Much better after that good night's sleep I had. I may be a dream demon, but I hardly get to sleep like that. I had the most wonderful dream about being in a world without doctors, and I wish…" Nightmare trailed off, peering around the barren desert as if he could spot something. "Can either of you hear that?"

Gray stopped and listened for a moment. Ivy did as well but didn't hear anything. Gray looked behind Ivy and Nightmare and made a face that said, "Oh, shit."

Right behind them, blazing through the desert in a cloud of dust, was a red and white blob that could only be one thing: Peter White.

"Please tell me that's not Peter." Ivy groaned. "Please."

"Sorry Ivy, I think it is." Nightmare patted the girl's drooping head. "But what is he doing out here? It's insane to be all the way in the wastelands without anyone else, and besides…Peter White specifically said he was NOT going to join us."

"Well, obviously he's either a complete idiot or he's changed his mind." Ivy deadpanned. Peter White pissed her off, almost as much as Blood Dupre. "If that bastard Blood is behind him, I'll just starve myself out here for the vultures to pick at."

"Lord Nightmare, should we keep going and act like we don't see him?" Gray asked.

Nightmare sighed and shook his head. "No. Even though none of us are too fond of him, Peter may be a help to us. Besides, we've stopped already. It's most likely he's noticed, and if we start walking again, Peter will be furious the next time we see him."Ivy moaned and anime tears started streaming down her face. "But he hates me!"

"So did the Joker, but you're still in one piece!" Nightmare "helpfully" pointed out. "And at least this time Gray and I will be here ninety-nine percent of the time, so Peter can't do too much damage to you."

"What's the other one percent?"

"Bathroom breaks." Gray answered. Ivy went pink and mumbled something about being sorry she asked.

The three decided it would be best to just patiently wait for Peter White to show up, so they sat down on the ground and made sure Nightmare wasn't in the sun too much by completely covering his head with the hood of his cloak. Ivy made a mental note to start referring to it as "Nightmare's Blankie." When Peter finally reached the group of travelers, all three were dozing in the sun and didn't realize the White Rabbit's appearance right away. Peter was panting with exhaustion; sweat dripped down his pale skin and matted his white hair. His fancy threads were covered in dust, and he wore a pack that looked like it was full of supplies. Peter adjusted his glasses and managed to pant out, "I'm here to help you find Alice!"

Nightmare, Gray, and Ivy stared at him in shock. "But you said you wouldn't." Gray pointed out.

"I know what I said," Peter huffed, wiping the perspiration out of his eyes. "but I have renounced on it. I must be part of the search for my precious Alice. She needs me."

"Whoa. You didn't rhyme." Ivy said in shock.

Peter glared at her. "Yes, sometimes when I'm exhausted like this, I forget to rhyme. Be silent. Has anyone got the time?"

"Nope." Nightmare shook his head. "We figured that clocks would be useless out here. We're going by the night and day periods. How in the hell did you manage to find us?"

"I have quite a good sense of hearing," Peter pointed to his rabbit ears. "Even a mile away, I could hear the girl's bickering. A nuisance, really. It's a pity she's the one charged with the task of locating Alice."

"One more word from you, bunny," Ivy's eyes turned to fiery orbs and she held her fist up in a challenge. "And I'll-"

Gray simply placed his hand over Ivy's mouth and said, "Well, we've found out something useful. You might want to know about it. Be prepared: it'll shock the shit out of you."

"Out with it, then." Peter grumbled, fixing the ruffles in his clothes and brushing the dirt off of them.

"It appears that the former Alices are now evil, and wish to kill anyone who looks for our Alice Liddell." Gray summed up.

Peter's steely gaze faltered a bit; that was the only sign he was shocked. He took his unyielding gaze from Gray to Nightmare and asked, "Is this true? I'll only believe it if I hear the sentence directly from you."

Nightmare nodded. "Ivy fought with one last night while I was unconscious and Gray was away. She fought with the one called 'Rose,' who told Ivy that her title was the Alice of Temptation."

"Rose…" Peter looked thoughtful. "I believe she was the Alice before our Alice. Have either of you seen this girl?"

Nightmare and Gray shook their heads. "Only Ivy has."

Peter narrowed his eyes. "Then how do you know the girl is not lying? I'm not sorry for prying; I'm just finding the truth, or at least trying."

"Now wait just a moment Mr. Rhyming Annoyance!" Ivy glared at Peter in disdain. "Why the hell would I lie about that? I wouldn't gain anything from it, other than being called a liar!" Ivy marched over and stomped down on Peter's foot very hard. "How do you like that, you asshole?" The whole scene looked comical, with the White Rabbit hopping around on one foot and holding the other in his gloved hands. It was funny, that is, until Peter summoned his hand gun and pointed it right at Ivy's smirking head.

"You've crossed the line, girl." Peter growled menacingly. "Now prepare to die; you make me want to hurl."

"Not so fast, Peter!" Nightmare was suddenly in front of Ivy with his arms spread out wide to protect her. "Ivy's my charge. She took the Medicine of Clover. You can't just whip out your gun like a madman and start threatening to shoot her just because she pissed you off. Ivy is here to find Alice; she's here to HELP us all."

"Honestly, you can be more of a hassle than Lord Nightmare sometimes." Gray huffed in annoyance.

Ivy stuck her tongue out at Peter from behind Nightmare's protective back, and the prime minister glared at her with his be-speckled pinkish eyes. Peter glowered at everyone else but made his gun disappear. Sighing, he muttered, "I'll try to get along with her. As long as she does her duty, I won't threaten her with death."

"You didn't rhyme~!" Ivy sang happily. "There's a start to our wonderful new relationship~!"

Peter just glared at Ivy until she hid behind Gray.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoX**

The party of now four travelers made it through the desert of the wastelands and soon found themselves in another extreme environment; the wetlands. Gray explained as they all trudged through the buggy, humid, muddy terrain that the wastelands had many different types of areas; the desert, the wetlands, the rainforest, the steppes, the volcanic plains, the woodlands, and much more. Each area had its dangers. The desert had giant vulture-like creatures, but luckily the group had passed through at a season where the birds slept most of the time. The wetlands housed giant squids and other slimy marine animals in its many bogs and swamps. The most dangerous areas were probably going to be the volcanic plains because of the Jabberwocky and the woodlands because of the Bandersnatch. The wastelands were simply called "the wastelands" because they were uninhabitable for the human population of Wonderland-the monsters and creatures that called Wonderland home thrived in these harsh areas.

"Ugh. Why can't there be some sign saying 'Travelers, Welcome! Rest Stop This Way!' or something?" Ivy moaned, swatting a mosquito away from her face. She was starting to prefer the hot, dry desert to this sticky, disgusting place. At least in the desert there were no bugs.

"Because no one lives out here." Peter answered. "Coming into the wastelands gives anyone with a brain a large dose of fear."

"Shut up, Bunny Boy." Ivy mumbled, kicking at a clod of mud.

"How long do you think we'll be traveling through here, Gray?" Nightmare asked.

"I don't know. I don't even know which way to exactly go. Maybe with luck, we'll run into one of those Alice girls and they'll give us a clue." Gray said hopefully.

Ivy's face darkened. "Don't even joke about that, Gray. Meeting just one was enough for me. I hated it." She slapped at another mosquito, this one landing on her arm. "And you know what else I hate? THIS FREAKING PLACE!"

Ivy's shout echoed throughout the wetlands loudly, scattering a few crows from the dying trees and causing the frogs to stop croaking. Ivy glowered all around her, determined to set something on fire with her burning gaze. She was feeling a bit…moodier than usual. _I swear to God, if I'm PMS-ing or on my period, somebody's getting their throat sliced open._ Ivy suddenly realized there was an odd singing in the air. She wanted to clap her hands over her ears because it hurt her head so much. But it was no use-her body was starting to lose control. Ivy opened her mouth to warn the others that something was going on, but all that came out was, "I hope you all die here! I hate you for dragging me into this!"

Nightmare and Gray looked a bit shocked at Ivy's unusually violent and angry attitude. "Ivy, are you feeling all right?" Nightmare asked carefully.

"Oh yes Nightmare, I'm fine and dandy. The world is full of kittens and sunshine and-NO I AM NOT FUCKING OKAY. I'M HOT, SWEATY, TIRED, PISSED OFF, AND I WANT THIS TO BE OVER WITH!" Ivy growled deep in her throat like a predator and locked eyes with Peter. Her eyes had suddenly turned…slightly psychotic. Peter stepped back a bit and tripped over a vine, landing in a puddle of muck. Ivy grinned crazily and started to advance towards Peter. "I'm going to kill the little rabbit now," Ivy said in a voice that did not sound like Ivy at all. "And none of you can do anything about it."

"That's not Ivy," Gray realized with a shock as the girl threw herself at Peter. "That's not Ivy at all." He and Nightmare grabbed at Ivy's clothes, holding her back as she tried to slice Peter's skin with nails frighteningly longer than they had been five minutes ago. An insane look was on her face, and a foreboding aura surrounded her whole body. Gray looked around the area, surveying it with keen eyes. That was when he and Nightmare noticed there was a soft melody in the air, one that if they listened to for long, they started to feel…not themselves. In a loud voice, Gray and Nightmare both said, "Come out! Whoever is controlling this girl!"

A melodious voice from all around them giggled. "You're observant, handsome." A feminine figure leapt down from a tree above them and landed on the ground. "How did you know I was here?" The girl in front of them looked about Ivy's age. She had short blue hair that was a mess of curls, and her eyes were a matching sapphire shade. Her face was pretty and kind-looking. The girl wore a dress in a light shade of indigo, with bright aquamarine music notes dotting the fabric here and there. On her feet were white sandals.

"Who are you?" Peter demanded. He had finally managed to wrench Ivy's hands away from his throat, and he was now holding her down along with Gray and Nightmare.

"Who am I?" The girl tilted her head in a cute way. "I'd think you would know. Or at least guess." She twirled around in a circle. "Or are you not smart like I thought you were?"

"Don't play with us, wench!" Nightmare growled. His normally carefree expression was twisted into one of hatred and anger. "What did you do to Ivy?"

As if an answer, the girl simply smiled in a way that was as insane as Ivy's had been mere minutes before, and when she opened her mouth a cacophony of sound ushered forth. It was a beautiful melody that twisted its way around the three Role Holders' brains, one that seemed to jab at their minds and rip their reason apart. Ivy wrenched away from her captors and leapt up, landing on the branch of an overhanging tree. Ivy's nails grew long again, like talons, and she snarled, "Now you die!" Ivy threw herself at the closest Role Holder…who also happened to be a struggling Nightmare.

Nightmare saw Ivy flying towards him, and he forced himself to block the insane music wrapping itself around his head. He brought up his arms to protect his face from being sliced by Ivy's abnormally long fingernails, yelling as he did so in a loud, clear voice, "IVY! STOP IT! NOW!" Ivy's mad expression faltered and her nails suddenly retracted as she crashed into Nightmare's open arms. The two fell down and rolled together across the damp earth.

The girl all in blue closed her mouth, a furious look on her face. "Damn you…You've broken my hold on her!" Gray and Peter came to their senses as the music faded away, their senses returning to them. She glared at the group with intense hatred in her eyes. "Master might be angry if I killed you all right now though…there's still so many ways Master wants to test you!"

"Like what?" Gray desperately. "And who is your master?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The girl threw her head back and laughed, a peal of laughter that teetered on the brink of madness. "Mark my words, Role Holders! You'll get yours! I swear it on my title of Aria, the Alice of Insanity!" And then the girl-Aria-sank into her own shadow, her expression one of extreme anger.

Gray and Peter ran over to where Nightmare and Ivy lay. Nightmare was shaking Ivy's motionless body, whispering into her ear. Ivy's face was pale and it looked like she was in intense pain. Nightmare brushed a lock of black hair away from Ivy's forehead. He looked up at Gray and Peter and said in a dull voice, "I guess they really do want to kill us."

"Is Ivy…" Peter trailed off. He looked extremely guilty.

"She's alive. But whatever just happened to her…I think it hurt her. A lot." Nightmare shuddered. "The Alice of Insanity, huh? Aria…she must have the ability to twist people's reason into madness when she sings. She must have made Ivy slowly fall into insanity as soon as we arrived here, just hiding and lying in wait. That's why Ivy was acting so unusual."

"But what made her stop?" Gray asked. He and Peter started to help Nightmare up. Gray also hefted Ivy onto his shoulders. "She was about to kill you."

"I suspect when it was when Nightmare yelled," Peter pointed out. "It caused Aria's influence to disappear. Didn't you see how Ivy fell?"

Nightmare looked down. He was covered in mud from head to toe-he looked like the portrait of disaster. His normally sleek silver hair hung around his pale face in lank strands coated with clumps of dirt. "I suspect it's going to get more dangerous from now on," Nightmare began. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt. We're moving through this damned place as fast as we can and into the next level of the wastelands. Whenever I find this 'Master' guy, I swear I'll kill him." Nightmare's face was set in a determined stance. "I swear it on my title of the Caterpillar."

"I have a feeling we're going to need some help." Peter said. "This is just the beginning of the dangers we face from now on."

"Yeah, but the others didn't want to come with us." Gray pointed out.

Peter gave Gray a peculiar look. "As did I. But I changed my mind, didn't I?"

"You have a point." Gray adjusted Ivy's body on his back. He hated to think it, but she felt so light and delicate. As if she could be broken at any time.

"Well, if anyone else decides to come along, I sure as hell would appreciate it." Nightmare said. He had summoned his rapier and was looking pissed and dangerous-a deadly combination. "Gray, you make sure Ivy stays safe at all costs. She's the major key to this mission. Peter, you and I are going to make sure ensure that nothing-human looking or otherwise-gets past us."

Peter nodded and summoned his hand gun. "Yes, Nightmare." He suddenly grinned a bit and said in a joking tone, "You're starting to act like Her Highness, Vivaldi. I never thought you would dare."

Nightmare's grip tightened on his sword. "I just don't want anyone else getting hurt." His eyes flickered mournfully to the unconscious Ivy on Gray's back. "The gloves are coming off. I'm not going to rest at all until we find Alice and destroy this bastard who keeps sending those witches after us."

"Where should we head now, Lord Nightmare?" Gray asked. "There's plenty of paths to get to different areas of the wastelands."

Nightmare looked straight ahead of himself and started marching in that direction. Swinging his head back to look at Gray and Peter, he said, "We're going to the colder area of the wastelands-the steppes. I don't know why, but I just feel like that's the direction we should be going."

And so Nightmare Gottschalk, the Caterpillar; Gray Ringmarc, the Lizard; and Peter White, the White Rabbit continued the next part of the search for Alice Liddell.

**Daaaaaaamn. I'm surprising myself with all the drama and tension I keep creating for this story. O.O I NEVER REALLY MAKE EVERYTHING SO MYSTERIOUS! This is really fun! :D But Peter's so damn hard to keep in character with all his rhyming nonsense…why did I bring him in this? Oh yeah-for the later plot. ^w^ Now you wanna know more, don't you~! I will hopefully be updating more quickly now that I'm on summer vacation and I seem to be having more ideas for Missing Dreams. Please continue to support this; it means SO much to me. Thank you all, and I love you to death! :P**


	10. Reflections of Doubt

**I'm so happy! I'm finally at chapter 10! I didn't get as many review for chapter 9 as I had hoped…but that's okay. The amount of reviews/feedback I have for this story has already surpassed what I originally thought it was going to be. Thank you, everyone!**

**Chapter Ten**

Ivy was staring at her reflection. She was standing in front of a tall mirror that seemed to keep going on upwards forever and ever. Everywhere Ivy looked was nothing but darkness. She appeared to be floating in the air rather than standing on solid ground. Ivy shuffled herself forward a bit towards the mirror, placing her hand on its cold, glassy surface. She stared deep and hard into the bluish-green eyes of the girl look back at her.

"Who am I?" Ivy asked herself out loud. Her voice echoed throughout the odd area she was in. "I am Ivy Cainz." Her reflection answered back. Ivy wasn't surprised at all. After all, this was a dream. In dreams, odd things seemed to happen. "But what is my purpose?" Ivy found herself wondering. Her reflection grinned at her. "To find Alice Liddell, of course!" Ivy looked down, staring at the shadows that pooled beneath her feet. "And after that? What do I do when I manage to locate Alice?" Ivy's reflection paused and bit her lip in thought. Finally, she shrugged. "I have no clue. I guess you're going to have to find out."

"But I'm scared." Ivy whispered. Her mind went to when she had attacked Nightmare. Ivy had been in a haze of some sort, one that made her believe Nightmare was a threat. Ivy still didn't know what had happened to her; all she knew was that she was most likely unconscious and that she had wanted to rip Nightmare apart limb from limb.

"Don't be scared, Ivy."

Ivy's head shot up as she stared at her reflection in shock. The voice that was coming from the mirror wasn't hers. But it was very familiar. Ivy watched as her own black hair started to become a pleasant shade of brown; her eyes changed from blue and green to brown; Ivy's face morphed from its obvious plainness to a face fair and kind; Ivy's dirty and wrinkled clothes became an all-too-familiar blue and white dress. Ivy's mouth gaped open as she stared at Alice Liddell's likeness in the mirror before her.

"A…Alice?" Ivy breathed softly.

Alice smiled sadly. "Hello, Ivy Cainz. It's so good that I can finally meet you in person."

The girl in the mirror's voice was so familiar that Ivy's head hurt as she tried to think of where she had heard it from. Finally, Ivy realized why it sounded so familiar when Ivy knew for a fact that she had never met Alice Liddell in person before. "Y-you're the voice I kept hearing in my head when I first got into Wonderland! Aren't you?"

Alice nodded. "Yes. I managed to connect my mind to yours so that I could help you gain clues." Alice's pretty face became grave, and she closed her eyes tightly. "I'm running out of time. I need you to listen to me very closely. I know you probably won't believe me at first, but…" Alice took a deep breath and launched into a speech that sounded as if it had been rehearsed nervously for a couple of days.

"I've been kidnapped by someone who wants to control the Game. If he has control of the Game, he believes he can take over the other world, not just Wonderland alone. Apparently, I'm the 'Alice' Wonderland itself has been waiting for. There's a prophecy saying that one day, an Alice will appear with the power over Wonderland's inhabitants. Those other 'Alices' up to this point, according to my kidnapper, have only been fakes. I'm…supposed to be the real thing." Alice sighed. "I never wanted any of this. I just wanted…someone to love me. After…." Alice shook her head as if trying to rid herself of painful memories. "Ivy, please. Wonderland has brought you here so that you can find me and stop this madman. He's going to merge me and the previous Alice players of the other Games and make some kind of weapon. He calls it…the Alice of Perfection." Alice pressed her hands against the confines of the mirror, tears rolling down her porcelain-like cheeks. "You're the only one who can save Wonderland."

"M-me?" Ivy pointed to herself in shock. "I'm nothing. I can't even run a mile in less that ten minutes-how that hell do you suppose I can save Wonderland?"

"Because you can. You don't know it, but you can. There's a power deep inside you, one that emerged when you stepped into Wonderland. The prophecy also states that there will be someone who can stop all this; that person is YOU, Ivy." Alice looked into Ivy's eyes fiercely. "That's why he keeps sending the other Alice girls after you. If you're dead, no one stands in his way."

"Of course. There's ALWAYS a damn prophecy. Nice to know I'm becoming a cliche." Ivy muttered under her breath angrily. She turned her attention back to Alice's likeness in the mirror."What happened to those other girls, anyway? After their Game ended, why…why didn't they just go home?" Ivy asked slowly.

"He took them away and made them into monsters. There's two more after Rose and Aria. They won't hesitate to kill you." Alice's eyes darkened. "Ivy, there's something else that you need to know. If he changes his mind and doesn't kill you, he'll probably merge your soul along with mine and the other Alices. You'll essentially become me."

"I'll become Alice…" Ivy's eyes widened alarm. "That's what everyone has been saying! That if I stay in Wonderland too long, or if I don't do my duty, that I'll somehow become you! Especially those weird Alice-clones in my dream…"

"Yes. My kidnapper created those to dissuade you from pursuing me any farther. He was pretty angry when it didn't work." Suddenly Alice's head lurched to the side as she looked around wildly. Her eyes became wide with terror. "Damn…he's coming. I can only penetrate into your mind as long as he's gone." Alice began to disappear, her body seeming to fade slowly away.

"Wait!" Ivy pounded on the glass of the mirror with her fist. "Don't go! Tell me this guy's name! Tell me where you are! Anything to get to you faster!"

Alice shivered as the last of her body vanished until at that remained was her soulful eyes. They closed, then opened again as her disembodied voice rang out into Ivy's ears. "His name is Creed. And he's keeping me in his lab. That's all I can tell you…for now…"

And then Alice Liddell disappeared once more, leaving the mirror empty of everything but the reflection of the blackness that surrounded Ivy's entire being.

"No…" Ivy whispered. She splayed her palm against the surface of the mirror as if that could bring back the girl who had just been inside it. "Come back. Please." Ivy's voice broke with desperation, and she slammed her body into the glass, not caring if it broke into a million little pieces that would burrow their way into her flesh. Ivy pounded against the mirror again and again, beseeching for some force to bring Alice Liddell back to tell her more. Finally, Ivy leaned against the mirror, exhausted and panting. Her body throbbed with pulsing pain that was the result of slamming herself against the reflective surface of the mirror.

"I've got to tell Nightmare." Ivy said softly. "I've got to…apologize for what I did. I…" Ivy closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep so that she could escape the world of pain and shock that she had just entered into…

Only to wake up and find herself surrounded in a cocoon of blankets and staring at a white ceiling made from clothe. Ivy's eyes slowly blinked open as she gazed around her surroundings. She appeared to be in the tent Gray had told her to get out when Nightmare had passed out, and the air around her was frigid. Ivy shivered and buried her body further into the blankets. Suddenly, she remembered everything that had occurred in her mind, and she bolted upright yelling "We've got to find Alice before it's too late!"

Three tired looking Role Holders stared at her in bewildered shock as Ivy tried to wriggle her way out of the blanket burrito she had become. Then:

"Ivy!" Nightmare shot across the tent and launched himself at Ivy, his arms wrapping around her tightly and pulling her into his chest. Nightmare's cheek rubbed against Ivy's and his mouth was in her hair. Ivy's mouth gaped at Nightmare's actions; she was so shocked that she couldn't say anything. "Ivy, thank God you're finally awake…" Nightmare whispered against her head. Ivy could feel the movements of his lips, and she shuddered from the pleasuring sensation that surged throughout her body. Nightmare must have though Ivy was shivering from the cold, so he grabbed the blankets she had shrugged off and wrapped them around her shoulders. He pulled away from her face and looked her in the eyes. "Are you feeling all right?"

Ivy shook her head. She was sure that her face was bright red. "Y-yeah. I'm fine." She looked at Gray and Peter. The two were wearing winter coats it seemed, along with gloves and other warm things. Ivy noticed Nightmare was too, even more so than his fellow Role Holders. "Where are we?"

"The winter lands." Gray answered. He stepped over to the front of the tent and opened the entrance flap. Bitterly cold wind blasted into the tent, bringing along with it a flurry of snowflakes that glinted in all sorts of colors in the light of the lamp hanging from the middle of the tent's ceiling. Ivy saw what looked like nothing but a white storm outside the tent. Gray yanked the tent shut and said, "This storm has been going on for quite some time."

"You've been unconscious for about four time periods." Nightmare said to Ivy. "I was so worried. I thought I was going to lose you." Nightmare hugged Ivy close to himself again, his slender hands stoking a need-filled fire inside of Ivy's body as they slid against her back innocently. "I'll never let that happen to you again." Nightmare whispered. His mouth was at Ivy's ear, and she desperately wished that his perfect lips were somewhere else.

"What were you saying about my love as you were waking up?" Peter asked gruffly, completely ruining the tender moment between Nightmare and Ivy. Ivy glared at the White Rabbit angrily. "Tell me, and stop acting like a love-struck pup." Peter addressed the last bit to Nightmare, who flushed big time and laughed nervously.

When the three Role Holders had gotten Ivy wrapped in yet another blanket burrito so she wouldn't freeze, Ivy began to sum up what had happened in her mind while she had been unconscious. When she was done with her tale, Nightmare, Gray, and Peter stared at her in shocked silence. Finally, Peter said, "And you're positive you were speaking to the real Alice Liddell? It wasn't just some illusion made to befuddle?"

Ivy shook her head. "No. I know for a fact it was the true Alice Liddell. I felt it." Ivy took a shaky breath. "Who do you think this Creed guy is? How could he have possibly transformed those poor former Alices into psychotic killers?"

Gray and Nightmare looked at each other as if they were speaking to each other in their minds. Actually, they probably were, since Nightmare could read minds. "I guess that's just another thing we're going to figure out." Nightmare said. He tapped his cheek in an agitated manner. "Damn. More mysteries just keep popping up everywhere we turn."

"I'm sorry!" Ivy blurted out timidly.

"For what?" Nightmare asked, obviously confused.

"For almost…k-killing you." Ivy barely managed to get out the sentence, she felt so guilty. "I'm so freaking sorry."

"It wasn't your fault." Gray rumbled in what almost seemed to be an affectionate tone. "Aria was controlling you with her singing."

"But I was too weak to stop it," Ivy argued. "If I was just a little more-"

"Ivy, you did the best you could." Nightmare interrupted Ivy. "When are you going to accept that sometimes there are people stronger than you, and the most you can do isn't your fault?"

Ivy looked down, wringing her hands in embarrassment. "I'm still gonna apologize, though. I'm sorry."

"Don't express regret for something you couldn't avoid," Peter said, surprising everyone else. "It's not your fault that your mind and will were toyed with."

"Thank you, Peter." Ivy nodded to him in sincerity. "Really. Thanks. And I'll try to be more accommodating to you now. I owe it to you."

Peter looked away in a huff, but Ivy had a distinct feeling he was hiding a pleased smirk.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

"When this snow storm blows over, we'll start heading out again." Gray explained to Ivy. The party was all attempting to make a meal out of lukewarm cans of soup from Peter's bag; lukewarm because the only fire they had was in the lamp. They didn't want to risk burning the tent down by creating a larger fire than the meager flame that flickered in the lamp's glass case. "Lord Nightmare felt it was important that we come to the coldest part of the wastelands to continue our search. Why, I have no freaking clue. All I know is that my ass feels like it's going to freeze off."

"So you're an ass-sickle?" Ivy joked.

Gray rolled his eyes good naturedly as Nightmare proceeded to laugh his ass off, and even Peter managed to crack a bit of an amused grin.

"Hey, it's better than being a balls-sickle." Ivy shrugged, grinning evilly.

"What do you-oh. That's just sick, Ivy." Gray's face paled a bit. "I didn't know you thought of things like that.""Gray enjoys it though~!" Nightmare sang. He pointed to his head. "Man, if only you guys could hear the thoughts going through Gray's mind, you'd be so disgusted with it that you'd run away into that freezing cold outside. Gray wants Ivy to-AH! GRAY! STOP WITH THE VIOLENT THOUGHTS! I'M SORRY, I'LL SHUT UP NOW!" Nightmare cowered in a little ball on the ground, looking at Ivy with "Help me" eyes.

Peter rose an eyebrow at Gray. "Do I want to know, Lizard?"

Gray smirked evilly at Nightmare and turned his attention to Peter. "No. You don't." Gray then looked a bit worriedly at Ivy. "You didn't hear what he said. Got it?"

Ivy blinked and nodded slowly. "O-kaaaay…" _From what Nightmare was saying…does that mean Gray likes me? Oh God, if he does then…_Ivy felt herself start to go red at the prospect of Gray Ringmarc having some sort of feelings for her other than friendship. She loved Nightmare with all her heart no doubt, but Gray WAS pretty hot and a good guy. _Fudgenuggets. I hope I don't find myself in a love triangle. They may be funny in books and on TV, but in real life…they suck major ass._

"What do we do in the meantime while we wait for the storm to pass?" Ivy asked.

"Sleep." Peter answered wistfully. He rubbed at his pink eyes. "Worrying about Alice has made me so tired I can barely stand."

"Sleep sounds like a good idea." Nightmare nodded. "I like sleep. There's nothing better than it. That's probably why I was chosen as the Caterpillar." He yawned and grabbed his sleeping bag. "Who's ready for another sleepover?"

"Are you going to pretend to crawl in my sleeping bag again like you did last night?" Gray deadpanned, causing Ivy to sweat drop at his blunt way of stating it.

Nightmare smiled benevolently. "That was only because I was so cold, and you were so warm."

"Why the hell didn't you crawl in with Peter? He's all furry."

"HEY!" Peter yelled.

"Because that bunny is a meany, and I love you more." Nightmare blinked up at Gray with "seductive" eyes.

Gray turned his gaze to Ivy. "Thank you for finally waking up; now Nightmare will maybe bother you instead."

"Ivy, may I sleep with you tonight? We'll keep each warm~…" Nightmare asked in a cute, hopeful voice, batting his silver eyelashes.

Ivy knew for a fact that all the blood in her body immediately rushed to her face, and she resisted the urge to nosebleed all over the place as a vivid picture of herself and Nightmare rolling around in a bed together, the only thing between them a thin sheet. Ivy's soul seemed to fly up from her body, and she passed out slightly into a heap on the ground.

Peter and Gray glared at Nightmare pointedly. "Ah, crap." The dream incubus muttered.

When they managed to rouse Ivy from her Nightmare-being-a-pervert-induced coma, she decided it would be best if she stayed away from her male companions to reduce the chance of her passing out once more. Nightmare's little "cute" routine had really shaken her up. _He needs to either stop flirting with me so much or he needs to just come out and say that he likes me._ Ivy thought to herself. Then she gave a short, bitter laugh and muttered, "Hah! I sure am being presumptuous. Why the hell would Nightmare like me?"

As if on cue, Nightmare's head perked up and he looked at Ivy's little corner from where he, Gray, and Peter were playing some card game. "Hm? You say my name, Ivy?"

"N-nope! I said…um…fight a bear!" Ivy hurriedly said.

"…fight a bear?""Yeah! Nothing's more intense than fighting bears!" Ivy rolled up her sleeve and pretended to flex. "Fluffy has nothing on these pecs!"

"That was a bit strange." Peter blinked. "Does she always act like so deranged?"

"Only when she's hiding something." Gray answered.

"SILENCE, FOOLS! I shall destroy you using the Force!"

"Ivy, do you need to go to sleep now?" Nightmare asked sincerely. "You're acting very odd."

Ivy shook her head vehemently, her face flushing pink. A blush seemed to be permanent on her cheeks nowadays the way that she kept finding herself in some-what compromising situations. "N-no…I'm just being weird?""Oh. Okay then." The three men went back to their card game.

Ivy sighed and curled up more tightly in her little blanket burrito. She lay her head against the tent's side softly, listening the wind howling about. Ivy shivered, glad that the tent was as warm as they could get it. It sounded as if it was a freezing hell outside their tent. Ivy found herself slowly nodding off before she could realize it, when she suddenly jerked awake as a thought crossed her mind like a jet plane streaking across the sky: _I am now in a smallish tent with three older men, two of whom I have feelings for, one of whom may have feelings for me, one of whom apparently wants to sleep with me, and one of whom is slightly notorious for being a pervert._

"If anyone tries anything tonight, I'm getting out a can of whoop-ass on you all." Ivy warned as she stirred back to life.

"What are you talking about, Ivy?" Gray looked at Ivy blankly. Nightmare and Peter followed suit.

"If I wake up and I've been violated in my sleep, I am going to…do to you guys what I do to bears!" Ivy threatened weakly, knowing it was completely unbelievable.

"And what exactly do you do to bears?" Nightmare teased, obviously not able to resist pulling Ivy's leg.

"I take a knife and skin them while their still alive, and then I gut them slowly and painfully. To end it all, I chop off their testicles with a rusty ax and boil it up for bear nuggets. Those things are tasty, believe it or not." Ivy answered in as serious as a tone of voice she could manage to.

The three Role Holders stared at her with incredulous looks.

Then they busted out in loud guffaws of laughter, holding their sides and shaking with mirth and wiping laughter-induced tears from their eyes.

"What's so funny?" Ivy demanded angrily from her corner.

"Bear nuggets?" Nightmare managed to choke out. "How did you make that up on the spot?"

"And that they're 'tasty'?" Peter chuckled. "It's clear your threat was very hasty!"

"Ivy, why do you make us laugh like this so much?" Gray asked, panting from the exertion he put on laughing.

Ivy made a strangled sound in her throat and looked away in embarrassment. "I-I don't know. I wasn't trying to be funny. I'm trying to make you guys scared of me."

"If you're scary, then Ace is like a newborn kitten dressed in pink." Nightmare laughed heartily.

"Or those Alice girls are like Girl Scouts wanting to sell you cookies." Gray put in.

"Or Her Majesty Vivaldi is a harmless little rag doll." Peter added, looking proud to have come up with one.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Oh, ha-ha. Very funny. Mock the girl who's been passed out for awhile. You guys are the greatest." Ivy rolled over so that she didn't have to look at them and grabbed a nearby pillow. "I'm going to bed. Maybe Alice will appear again, and I can get more information about this Creed dude. Night."

Ivy's companions seemed to sober up at that. They all bid her a good night and continued their battle of wits with the cards quietly. Ivy squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to sleep so that she could possibly see Alice again. She didn't just want to ask Alice more about Creed; Ivy also wanted to ask her to see if Nightmare had any sort of romantic feelings for her, or if it was just friendship. Ivy could still remember when the Alice named Rose had kissed Nightmare in his sleep, when he was at his most vulnerable state. Ivy remembered very clearly the way Nightmare's face had softened and how he had moaned "Alice, I love you," in a tender tone.

Ivy didn't have any hatred for Alice Liddell because of the fact that Nightmare seemed to be in love with her. She wasn't that type of girl. Ivy just desperately wanted to know if Nightmare secretly thought of her as more than a friend.

Ivy fell asleep soon enough but she did not meet Alice in her dreams. In fact, Ivy didn't even dream. At least, if she did, Ivy had no memory of any of it. In fact, the only thing that Ivy could remember was falling asleep to the sound of Peter's annoying rhyming scheme about how he was brilliant at playing cards and then waking up to someone shaking her wildly.

"Hunh…? Wassit..?" Ivy mumbled almost incoherently. A hand brushed the hair away from her face and shook her again.

"Ivy," A familiar voice urged. "Wake up."

"No. Five mo' mins'…" Ivy buried her head into the pillow and weakly tried to smack away whoever was trying to wake her up.

"Ivy."

Somehow, just that one whispered call of her name roused Ivy from her sleep enough for her to realize that it was Nightmare who had been attempting to awaken her. Ivy rubbed her eyes and yawned, cracking an eyelid open. It was dark in the tent, which meant that everyone else was asleep. Except Nightmare of course. And now Ivy herself. "Nightmare?" Ivy slurred her talking because she had just woken up, so it sounded more like "Nigh'mah?"

"I'm cold." Nightmare whispered. His only visible eye glimmered with mischief, a naughtily-gleaming silver orb in the night.

"So go get a friggen' blanket." Ivy glared at him as best she could with one eye.

"That's not going to be warm enough."

"Then go light yourself on fire." Ivy wasn't the nicest person when she was rudely woken up.

"That will hurt, don't you think?" Nightmare smiled at Ivy in a way that she could only process in her three-fourths sleeping mind as "extremely sexily and seductively."

Ivy didn't answer. She was engrossed with staring into Nightmare's eye. She reached up and touched the decorated eye patch on his other eye. "…hi…"

"I was serious about what I asked you earlier." Nightmare leaned down so that his lips were brushing Ivy's forehead. "May I sleep with you tonight?" He whispered against Ivy's skin. "Clothes on, of course. This is just two good friends trying to keep warm, no strings attached."

And thus, poor Ivy's hazy mind made her numbly nod her head and say, "…okay…"

Nightmare clapped his hands in glee and started to help Ivy out of her blanket burrito so that he could squeeze in alongside her. Ivy almost fell back asleep before he covered both of them up, and he poked her in the cheek to wake her back up. "Ivy, I need you to stay awake for a little longer." Nightmare softly ran a finger down the length of her arm.

"But it's sleeping time. I need to be sleeping." Ivy answered. She yawned for an added effect. Obviously, if Ivy ever got drunk and went off alone with a guy, she was in big trouble if this was how she acted when she was sober. Albeit half-asleep, but sober nonetheless.

"I know. You can go to bed soon. I just need to ask you a question." Nightmare wrapped his arms around Ivy's waist and pressed himself closer to her body. Ivy's blanket burrito now resembled a blanket taco due to Nightmare's presence in it. The added body heat made it nice and warm, and Ivy smiled pleasantly, closing her eyes and sighing in peace.

"Waddya need to ask me?" Ivy's head nodded to the side a bit as she began to doze once more.

"A very simple question, one that I've been meaning to ask for quite a long time now but I've been too afraid to." Nightmare sighed and leaned over into Ivy's ear. "Are you in love with me, Ivy Cainz?"

And yet again, Ivy's extremely drowsy mind led her to answer in another stupid way. "Hell yes, Nightmare. I've fallen head over heels in love with you." Ivy smiled in a contented, sleepy way.

"I'm going to ask you another question. Is that okay, even though I said I only had one?" Nightmare asked.

"Yeah. It's fine.""Do you think you're dreaming right now?"Ivy didn't answer right away. Her eyes were squeezed shut in concentration as she pondered her answered. Then, she replied in a light tone, "Yeah. I think I am."

Nightmare sighed in a knowing and slightly saddened way. But then he smiled and brought his arms from around Ivy's waist up to her face, cupping her cheeks in both of his hands tenderly. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to hope you remember this in the morning." Ivy blinked in confusion as one of his fingers caressed the soft skin on her cheek, making her shiver. Nightmare's lips were so close that Ivy could feel his warm breath on her own mouth, which she was starting to part so that could speak.

And then Nightmare's lips were suddenly on hers, very softly and very sweetly kissing her over and over again until Ivy found herself in a warm pool of fuzzy feelings before slowly drifting off to sleep once more, even as Nightmare was still pressing his perfect mouth to her unworthy lips.

**Nighttime kisses seem to be Nightmare and Ivy's thing now, huh? B) I obsessed over this kiss scene, but I don't really think it's that good…I hope you guys at least enjoy it even a little bit. And I'd also like to see your opinions on the new information Alice gave Ivy. Shocking, isn't it? ^_^ I'm such a plot demon. As always, **_**REVIEW PLEASE**_** because they make updates go more quickly and they make me happy. Even when they are flames.**


	11. Winter Wonderland

**Sorry for a late update! I've had no ideas, I've been procrastinating, I've been writing other stories…so many excuses! ^-^; Anyway, thanks for over 60 reviews! This chapter will be basically told in Nightmare's perspective. I'm just setting things up for a better chapter next time I update. And I'm really disgusted with the fact that I did a whole "Ivy's in a prophecy" thing last chapter…that was SO Mary Sue and cliché. I want to stab myself for doing that. Sigh…too late to change it now…So please enjoy this chapter despite its blahness!**

**Chapter Eleven**

Ivy didn't remember the kiss when she woke up the next morning.

Nightmare supposed that was a blessing and a hindrance: a blessing because then things would no doubt be awkward between the two of them if Ivy had any memory of the kiss and her sleepy confession, but a hindrance because Nightmare kind of wanted to see how Ivy would react afterwards.

However, the incubus still had been curled up besides Ivy when she had woken up. THAT had posed a bit of a problem. Nightmare had been planning on going back to his original sleeping area, but after he had kissed Ivy and watched her fall right back asleep with no other reaction either good or bad, he couldn't bring himself to leave. The black-haired girl was warm and made Nightmare feel good to be so close to her. Staring at her serene and absolutely adorable sleeping face had made his clock tick more rapidly than usual. _Am I falling for Ivy?_ Nightmare had asked himself as he ran one finger down her smooth cheek, her soft taste still on his lips. _But Alice…I should be in love with Alice. Not Ivy. Ivy's just a friend. Right? So why is it that I…want to kiss her more than I just did?_

Nightmare didn't know what was wrong with him. As a Role Holder of the Game, his feelings for any Outsider other than Alice Liddell should just be along the lines of either friendship or hatred. Not silly romantic notions that caused him to kiss half-asleep girls while also getting them to confess their love for him. Nightmare had never heard of a Role Holder having feelings for an Outsider that was not the original Outsider. Actually, Nightmare was pretty sure there had never been more than one Outsider in Wonderland at the same time. Ivy was an exception.

"Am I just using Ivy as a replacement for Alice?" Nightmare wondered quietly out loud, careful not to wake Gray or Peter. "Is that why I'm starting to feel this way? Or is my clock really ticking only for Ivy now? Ugh, why can't I understand this?" He turned his gaze back to Ivy's sleeping profile, her eyelashes and cheekbones highlighted by the soft pale glow of the moon shining through the tent fabric. Nightmare couldn't help but admitting to himself that Ivy looked beautiful. He kissed her forehead just before he too fell asleep, where he dreamt of girls who looked like Alice one moment and then Ivy the next.

…And was rudely awakened sometime later by Ivy screaming at the top of her lungs, "WHAT THE HELL, NIGHTMARE?"

Nightmare opened both his eyes even though one was covered by his eye patch. His arms were tightly wound around Ivy's slender waist, and his face was buried in her onyx-colored hair. Nightmare lifted his head up to see Ivy glowering face, her green and blue eyes swirling with embarrassed anger. "What are you doing?" With each word Ivy slithered out of Nightmare's arms. Her face was a bright red, and she scooted back from him once she got out of his grasp.

"I got cold." Nightmare answered cheerfully. "You said I could sleep with you!"

"I'm pretty damn sure I would have remembered that, Nightmare! I don't let just anyone crawl under a blanket with me!" Ivy's voice was a pitch higher than it normally was. Nightmare suspected it was because Ivy was both mortified that she had been incoherent enough to allow him in her little blanket cocoon she had concocted and really pissed off with the fact that Nightmare had taken advantage of her exhaustion.

Nightmare raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry! You just looked so cold all by yourself, I figured I'd be a gentlemen and keep you warm. It was a win-win situation."

"THAT'S NO EXCUSE, DAMMIT!"

Gray and Peter were being roused awake by Ivy's shrill screams. Gray rubbed his eyes and looked at Nightmare and Ivy's position: the Lord of the Tower of Clover looking comfy in Ivy's blanket burrito and Ivy glaring daggers at Nightmare from the corner. "Do I want to know what happened?" Gray asked. Peter looked appalled, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

Nightmare smiled broadly. "What? I was cold!"

"You're also a pervert!" Ivy growled. She was shivering now that she was out of her blanket burrito. "I was completely serious about skinning you alive if you tried anything!"

"I highly doubt you have the guts to," Nightmare answered in amusement. Now that he knew for a fact that Ivy really was in love with him, he was going to subtlety use that fact to his advantage.

Ivy's crimson face flushed even more, if possible, and she groped for a retort. Evidently none came to her mind, and she hung her head. Ivy muttered something Nightmare couldn't hear. "What was that?" Nightmare asked, sitting up and stretching his arms above his head. Nightmare felt better than ever; he must have gotten more sleep than he thought he would have. _It was probably because I was smashed up against Ivy,_ Nightmare mused to himself jokingly.

"I said you're an ass," Ivy mumbled in a louder voice.

Nightmare chuckled. He got up and draped a blanket across Ivy's shivering shoulders."Let's not waste the day, guys. Chop chop! Hurry and get dressed. The storm's over by now from the sound of it. We should try to find this Creed guy's hideout."

"Or some documented evidence of the prophecy Ivy swears Alice told her about," Peter added. The White Rabbit looked too tired to bother rhyming anything at the moment.

Nightmare nodded. "That too. Any headway we made will be great no matter what it is, as long as we find something."

"Nightmare?" The dream demon turned his attention to Ivy, who was wrapping herself in yet another blanket burrito. "Can I ask you a serious question?"

"Of course!" Nightmare replied.

"Do you swear that you didn't…do anything to me while I was sleeping?"

The three men in Ivy's presence fell down anime-style with sweat drops rolling down their heads. "Yes, I swear I didn't violate you, rape you, or do anything to you that you would not like. Ivy." Nightmare answered in a deadpan.

Then he smirked slightly, turning away so Ivy couldn't see it.

_All I did was kiss you, but I don't think you minded that at all. Especially since I made sure you told me if you loved me or not._

Nightmare was sure of one thing, though: If Ivy ever found out about that little scene, she would either rip out his intestines or faint from the sheer embarrassment.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

"Wow…it's so pretty out here!" Ivy gazed around her surroundings in wonder. The snowstorm was indeed over, leaving the frigid land blanketed with another layer of soft snow that crunched under the group's feet. The sun shone brightly upon the scene before Nightmare and the others. Wherever a sunbeam hit the pure white snow, rainbow-tinted flashes tweaked in their eyes. The pine trees were covered with the crystalline snow, and every so often a pile would fall from a tree's branches. It was truly a beautiful world of winter wonder.

Everyone was wearing snow boots, gloves, scarves, thicker pants, and furry winter coats to keep warm. Ivy's winter gear made her look like a charming ice fairy to Nightmare: the way her cheeks flushed endearingly from the cold, the cute blue hat with the white puffball on the end that bounced every time she walked, the silver coat she wore with the fur surrounding the collar…Nightmare just couldn't deny how adorable Ivy looked. Ivy caught him looked at her, and she blushed. She leaned down, picked up a handful of snow, and patted it into a ball. Ivy's silver mittens became flecked with white.

Nightmare narrowed his eyes._ She wouldn't._

She would.

Ivy threw the snowball at Nightmare with a force that left a stinging pain on his arm where it landed despite the protective coat he wore. "Oh, it's on!" Nightmare yelled giddily. "Gray, help me!"

"Oh hell no, that's not fair! If you get Gray, I get Peter on my team." Ivy said indignantly. "Come on, Bunny Boy! Get your furry little butt over here."

"My butt is NOT furry," Peter protested. He ran over to Ivy's side anyway, a wad of snow already in his hand.

"Lord Nightmare, are we really going to act so childishly?" Gray sighed.

"Yes. We all need something to loosen ourselves up. A snowball fight is perfect." Nightmare explained, ducking down to avoid being pelted in the face by Peter's snowball. "Now throw snow, dammit!"

Gray rolled his eyes but began to form a round ball of snow in his black-gloved hands, making an exclamation of surprise when Ivy nailed him on the shoulder with her snowball. Gray's eyes narrowed and he hissed in a competitive voice, "It's on!"

And that's how fifteen minutes later, the party of four was covered in snow and laughing like idiots. Nightmare noticed the snow clinging to Ivy's hair, making it wet and clump together. He pointed to his own silver locks, and Ivy shook her head. "You're good." She answered cheerfully. Apparently he was forgiven for the little midnight visit he had given her.

Ivy flopped down onto her back, laying in the snow with a passive grin on her flushed face. "This is just like what me and my friends do every winter back home," Ivy said happily. She started to move her arms and legs up and down in the white powder.

"What are you doing?" Nightmare asked curiously. Gray and Peter were looking at the sole girl in the midst with intrigued expressions also.

"Making a snow angel! Duh," Ivy replied. "Have you guys never made one before?"

Peter shook his head. "Not really. It rarely snows where we live in Wonderland. But here, there's snow everywhere I look, no matter where I stand!"

"You just wanted to make a rhyme, didn't you?" Ivy deadpanned.

Peter shrugged. "Perhaps."

"It really is pretty here," Gray mused quietly. The Lizard was tracing shapes into the fine white substance. "If the snowstorms weren't so bad, I wouldn't mind living here."

"Me neither," Nightmare agreed. He gave a little cough. "Although the cold is kind of taking its toll on me.""Are you okay? Do you need another layer of clothes?" Ivy shot up from her snow angel, smudging the edges so that it looked more like a snow blob. Nightmare loved how concerned her tone sounded.

"No, I'll be fine," Nightmare shook his head. "Unless I turn blue. Then I'll need some extra warmth." The Caterpillar waggled his thin silver eyebrows at Ivy in a somewhat suggestive manner. His tone was carefree and joking.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "I'll just make you a blanket burrito, okay?"

"That can work too, I guess…"

Peter and Gray looked at each other with "WTF?" expressions as Nightmare and Ivy playfully teased each other. Hadn't they just been kinda/sorta enemies a couple of hours before?

Noticing the unusual expression that was plastered on his employer's face, Gray sent a thought to Nightmare so neither Peter nor Ivy would hear his inquiry.** Lord, Nightmare, are you okay?**

_Of course I am, Gray. Why wouldn't I be?_ Nightmare answered back. The only other way he showed that he had acknowledged Gray's question was by flicking his violet eyes to Gray's face for the briefest of moments.

**You have the most unusual look on your face is all. **Gray explained. He got up and started to brush himself off of snow. "We should get going once more. Another snowstorm could come upon us at any moment."

_I do? Really? Ha-ha, THAT'S what's worrying you? _"Good thinking, Gray. Which way do you want to go?" Nightmare also got up, helping Ivy from her place on the ground. Peter followed suit.

**It's just…the only time I ever see you make that face is when you're talking about Alice.**

Nightmare stopped in his tracks, causing Ivy to bump into him with an "Oomph! Hey, watch where you're going, Nightmare!" Nightmare mumbled an apology and continued walking through the snow, careful not to trip over rocks hidden by the snow. The party was entering the pine tree forest now, a pleasant scent wafting through the air due to the fragrant pine needles.

_Could you repeat that?_

**Whenever you have that odd little grin is when you're telling me about Alice, or when you're talking to her yourself. **Gray sent, a flicker or annoyance flaring up in his thought. **You were smiling that way just now. When you and Ivy were-**

Nightmare cut Gray off._ I think I'm in love with Ivy, Gray._

Gray's dark eyes widened but he didn't stop in his tracks like Nightmare thought he would. Peter gave Gray a bemused look, obviously a bit confused as to why the Lizard was making such a weird expression when all he was doing was looking straight ahead of himself. **Lord Nightmare, are you certain?**

_Would I ever lie to you?_

**Yes. You do it all the time.** The exasperated sigh was ringing loud and clear through Gray's thoughts.

_About this, I mean._ Nightmare corrected himself. His clock quickened its ticking when he realized how close Ivy was keeping to his side. Almost as if she was afraid she would lose him, or worse.

Gray didn't reply for a moment. Then, after thinking evidently, Gray sent a thought back to Nightmare. **I don't think you would, Lord Nightmare. How did you…** Gray trailed off, obviously not sure how to continue his question.

_How did I realize it?_ Nightmare chuckled slightly inside his head.

**Yes.** Gray thought in affirmative.

Nightmare sighed, thinking back to when he probably first became conscious of the way Ivy's presence affected him. _When Ivy was under the influence of that Aria girl, I think. She was trying to kill me, but as I looked into her almost unrecognizable eyes, I realized I may be in love with her._

**Is that why you held Ivy the way you did?**

Nightmare smiled slowly. _Yeah. Plus her boobs are soft. _

Gray's face turned a shade pinker and he coughed into his hand. Nightmare threw his head back and laughed, his shoulders shaking hard.

"What the crap is that about?" Ivy asked. "It's so quiet, and then all of a sudden you start laughing like a madman. I'm a bit confused."

Nightmare didn't answer because he was too busy chuckling heartily still. Gray looked too uncomfortable to answer for some odd reason. Peter's white rabbit ears perked up in realization and he said, "They were probably talking to each other using their thoughts."

"…oh-kaaaay," Ivy nodded slowly. "Now I really want to know what they were talking about."

"Trust me. You don't," Gray deadpanned, a rosy blush still blooming on his handsome cheeks.

Nightmare just laughed harder.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXo**

At the edge of the coniferous forest, more snow/ice covered land sprawled before the party of four. They were peering down at the white wastelands from the cliff that the tree forest perched on. There were large stone cliffs on both sides of the snowy plains, so high and wide that they resembled mountains. Trees and rocks dotted the landscape before them. The sun shone high and bright in the sky, warming the group slightly. Down below them was an ice-covered lake. Next to that was what looked like a small run-down shack. Gray walked close to the edge and looked at its sides. "There's some rocks that we could use as stairs if we're careful," He reported.

"Is there ice?" Peter asked. "Slipping from that wouldn't feel too nice."

"Well, we're in the middle of winter up here pretty much. I'm pretty sure there's ice." Ivy said.

Nightmare closed his eyes, deep in thought. "If we have some rope we could tie ourselves together. That might be safer."

"So if one of us falls, all of us go down with them?" Gray asked, bemused.

"Exactly!"

"It's worth a shot though," Ivy pointed out. "I say we try it. Besides, these are the wastelands, right? So we should probably go check out that shed thingy since no one is supposed to live here."

The party couldn't argue with that.

So, that was how Nightmare, Gray, Ivy, and Peter found themselves slowly crawling down the steep side of the cliff with a thick rope connecting all four of them. The rope dug into Nightmare's waist slightly as Gray crawled another few inches down. It looked like they had about thirty more feet to go. "Be careful," Gray warned. "This rock is a bit slippery."

"Got it," Nightmare nodded, putting his boot firmly on the icy rock Gray spoke of. He moved downwards along with Gray, determined not to stare at Ivy's firm butt that was only about two feet above his face. Peter was above her, carefully scaling the rocky wall as well. "Ivy, you hanging in there?" Nightmare asked.

"Have I ever mentioned that dangling from cliffs and I don't go so well together?" Ivy replied in a shaking tone.

"No."

"Well we don't!" Ivy whimpered.

"You're doing fine so far, Ivy," Gray encouraged the terrified girl in a gentle voice. "Just keep going slowly."

Ivy nodded, her face white with fear. "O-okay."

"Look at it this way; when you get back home, you can tell all your friends you went rock climbing on a cliff covered in ice!" Nightmare told her lightly.

Ivy didn't answer. Instead she just held onto a rock tightly, placing her foot into a foothold created by a rock that was jutting outwards from the cliff's face carefully. As soon as she did that, the rock shifted and crumbled into little pieces that landed on Nightmare's face. Ivy screamed in terror as her legs dangled in the air. "I c-can't hold o-on much lo-longer!" Ivy stammered.

"Ivy, don't move!" Gray barked. "Just keep holding on! Lord Nightmare, can you-" Gray's sentence was cut off as Ivy's hold on the stones she was using to keep her balance broke and she was hanging in mid air, a scream tearing out from her throat.

"Damn! I can't hold on to this much longer!" Peter yelled down. More gravel hit Nightmare in the face. "Everyone, please forgive me for not being stronger…"

Ivy's eyes were wide with fear as she looked down at Nightmare. "I'm scared," Ivy whispered.

"Ivy, everything is going to be-" Nightmare wasn't able to finish his sentence as Peter also lost his hold on the cliff, sending both him and Ivy falling down on top of Nightmare and Gray. For ten very long seconds, all four were just a screaming ball of panic as they dropped to the snow covered earth below them, the rope tangling around their flailing limbs.

Nightmare and his companions landed on the white ground with a thud, packing the fresh and soft snow down with their combined weight. Nightmare took a few seconds to thank whatever gods were playing in their favor for the fact that the snow was soft enough to dull the jarring pain of their landing and that there were no rocks hidden beneath the colorless substance. The rope was digging into his waist even more now, almost cutting off his breathing. In a shocked voice, Nightmare said, "Is everyone all right?"

Muffled answers met his inquiry as the group untangled themselves from each other. Peter got off of Ivy as lightly as he could, Ivy rolled off of Nightmare so that she wasn't on his lap anymore, and Nightmare slid off of Gray's sturdy body with a groan. Gray took a knife from his pack and started to cut the rope from everyone.

"Well, we're still alive." Nightmare wheezed out after Gray had hacked his part of the rope away. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Three pairs of pain-filled, pissed off eyes glared back at him. "It was your idea to use that damn rope," Ivy muttered.

Nightmare rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. But the important thing is that we made it. No one has any broken limbs."

"Surprisingly," Peter mumbled, fixing his glasses and adjusting his clothes.

"Lord Nightmare, remind me to never go with an idea you came up with when it involves rope," Gray said to Nightmare as he stuffed the cut up rope back into his pack and slung it over his shoulder.

Nightmare sniffed indignantly. "Hmph. I said I was sorry. Can we just go explore that building now, and forget this whole ordeal ever happened?"

"I highly doubt my butt will ever forget it," Ivy grumbled, rubbing her backside and wincing with pain. "If this isn't what a broken ass feels like, then God forbid me ever really injuring it to that extreme."

Nightmare had to turn away from everyone else as they grudgingly trudged along behind him as they made their way around the frozen lake to the odd little shack so that they wouldn't see his pale skin beet red as he thought other things that involved Ivy's butt.

**Oh God, I am such a perv because of that last line…Hey, I wanted to end the chapter with something humorous! That fit! XD Anyways, what's in the mysterious shed…? Crack? Whores? A horde of evil penguin ninjas trained to kill a person in ten seconds using nothing but a wet noodle and a paper clip? If you review this chapter and wait for the next one, you'll find out… ^_^**


	12. Destructive Imaginings

**Happy 4th**** of July all my fellow Americans, whether it be belated, early, or on time. :D Hopefully this chapter will make up for last chapter's blahness. I plan to make it nice and actiony. ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews so far; let's try to make it to 70 by chapter 13 please.**

**Chapter Twelve**

"Kick the door open, Gray! Be a ninja! I've always wanted to witness a B&E!"

"You've always wanted to witness bacon and eggs…?""No, it's the acronym for 'breaking and entering.' Haven't you ever-oh you know what, never mind. Just kick the freaking door in already."

With a loud grunt, Gray rammed his booted foot into the locked door and the party watched as it swung open with an audible creak. Ivy, Nightmare, Gray, and Peter all cautiously stepped inside the run-down shack they had spotted from the cliff. All four were still wincing slightly as they walked from the aftermath their tumble down the icy rock face. Once they all had entered the abandoned lodge, Gray shut the door so snow couldn't get through. The inside of the shack was surprisingly cozy. It looked as if it had been abandoned only recently; there were still fresh logs in the fireplace, it wasn't as dusty as they had expected it to be, and it looked as if it had been freshly furbished.

"I thought no one was supposed to live out here in the wastelands," Ivy muttered to Nightmare.

He shrugged. "I guess we were wrong. Maybe there's some poor soul who got stuck out here."

"Have a look at this," Peter called from where he had wandered over to. The White Rabbit was standing in a corner in front of a tall bookcase with many large and old-looking books shelved within the crevices of it. "I believe it's something we should not miss."

Nightmare, Gray, and Ivy walked over to where Peter was. Ivy's face lit up when she saw all the books. Gingerly taking one from the bookcase, she stroked the fraying black cover almost as if it were her child. The book was so old that the title had faded completely. Ivy flipped the front cover open (which caused a cloud of dust to float up, making her eyes water) and began to carefully leaf through the pages. "Amazing…" She murmured excitedly. "Simply amazing!"

"What is it, Ivy?" Nightmare shifted his position to read over her shoulder. Ivy was strangely aware of Nightmare for some reason-his presence felt more intense and seemed to draw her to him more than normal. Ivy was just going to chalk that up to raging teenage hormones for now.

"I think this might be exactly what we're looking for," Ivy explained, stopping at a page with a detailed drawing of what appeared to be Heart Castle. The page was entitled A History of Heart Castle. Nightmare's warm breath caressed the nape of her neck, causing Ivy to suppress a shiver. "Going through this book, I think I've found out that it's a history of Wonderland. I mean, read some of these passages!" Ivy traced the faded ink on the rough parchment as she read it out loud: " _'Heart Castle has been around since Wonderland itself was. It is believed that all the major establishments of the four main countries of Wonderland (The Tower of Clover, The Diamond Courts, The Fortress of Spade, etc) were actually created by some major force of magic or a power similar when Wonderland first came into being. For many centuries, the Queen of Hearts has long reigned inside this majestic palace…'_ It goes on, but you get the point." There were more in depth illustrations and blue prints of the castle, and Ivy showed the rest of her party them.

Nightmare and Gray looked at each other like they were having a private conversation inside their heads. Nightmare then clapped his hands and commanded, "All right then! Everyone, grab a book and start looking through it for some sort of information on that mysterious prophecy that involves Alice and Ivy. Oh, and maybe something that mentions this 'Creed' guy."

"Lord Nightmare, what if whoever lived here comes back while we're searching through their belongings?" Gray asked suddenly before anyone had really moved.

It appeared that Nightmare hadn't thought of that. "Crap. Um…" The Caterpillar scratched his silver head as he ransacked his brain for ideas. "We'll be honest: that we're searching for a friend and thought this place was uninhabited, and we were looking for clues." Nightmare turned to Ivy, grinning. "Does that sound believable to you, Ivy?"

But Ivy wasn't listening. She had planted herself on the ground, reading the book she had plunked from the shelf. Her face was pinched with concentration as she completely absorbed herself in the universe between the tome's yellowed and dusty pages. Ivy was chewing on a few strands of her black hair, and her bluish-green eyes darted back and forth as she ate up the book's words hungrily.

The men in the vicinity took her lead and did the same, each finding themselves a corner and reading the old books vigorously. Sometime within the group's reading occasion, someone had gotten up to light the logs in the fireplace. The shack was now pleasantly warm, and the group had taken off their heavy winter outfits.

Occasionally someone would stop reading to ask the others if they had found anything concerning the prophecy Alice had told Ivy about. Every time it was always the same answer: "No." However, the members of the search party did find some interesting things; just not what they exactly they needed or wanted.

Peter had found what seemed to be a teleportation diagram in a book of spells and incantations. There was a circle with intricate symbols with a paragraph explaining how to use it. Just to test it out, Peter said the incantation (which was some ridiculous-sounding spell with quite a few rhymes that reminded Ivy of a child's nursery rhyme) and teleported to Heart Castle. It had worked apparently, and Peter had returned back all happy and ecstatic. He was going to keep the book and continue learning some of the spells inside.

Gray had discovered a descriptive list of all the Wonderland weapons known to its denizens. It included guns, swords, bombs, poisons…The book he had been looking at even had a chart where it listed what weapon to use against citizens of all the different countries because evidently the major weaknesses of a Diamond soldier differed from that of a Clover one. Needless to say, the former assassin was very pleased with his findings and decided to keep his book also.

Nightmare gotten a book that was an old diary of some kind of a former Tower of Clover lord. It held accounts of balls, feasts, political event…Nightmare was extremely excited with his discovery. He claimed that he could learn some tactics from the former Lord of Clover and believed it would help him to become a better leader. Ivy, on the other hand, held the idea that Nightmare was already the best leader she had ever been around. She had even told Nightmare that and, much to her surprise, he had been so happy that he had done something he hadn't done for awhile: throw up blood. It was apparently a good thing, though.

Lastly, Ivy's book about the history of Wonderland told tales of bitter wars fought before any of the present Role Holders' times. According to the information, the battles were fought even before the first Game was played. The tome told of bloody melee where many of Wonderland's first citizens were reduced to nothing but broken clocks. That was when the first role of Clockmaker was created. Slowly, as the fights for possession of different areas of Wonderland were won or lost, more roles came into being until each country had its appointed leader and territory. Ivy was amazed by the stories she read of some of the conflicts that had happened. It was astonishing how brutal Wonderland had once been when it first came into being.

But yet, there was no mention of the man named Creed nor the strange prophecy Alice had revealed in Ivy's dream.

"Ugh! This is the closest we've been it feels like, and yet we can't find a single freaking clue about that damn prophecy or Creed!" Ivy slammed her book down and glowered at the dust that clouded up from it. "If only there was some type of document with the prophecy written down in black and white!"

"Maybe there is, in that book you're reading," Nightmare pointed out. "Have you read it all?""Yes! Well, basically. I looked at the headings and thought it would be under the chapter that talks about fables and legends of Wonderland, but it's not," Ivy flipped to where she was talking about as Nightmare, Gray, and Peter all crowded around her. "There's something that's a bit weird though.""Weird? How so?" Peter asked.

"A blank page at the end of the chapter," Ivy turned to the last page of the chapter about legends. Like she had said, there indeed was just a blank piece of parchment and nothing else on either the front or back.

"That blank sheet has got to mean something," Gray said in a sure tone. "Maybe if we do something to it?""Oh right, like it has invisible ink or something. What do you want me to do, hold it over the fire?"

Gray stared pointedly at Ivy, who blanched.

"W-wait, you seriously want me to do it?" She asked.

Gray, Nightmare, and Peter all nodded. "It doesn't hurt to try it out." He nodded at the book as Ivy fingered the next filled in page, which began the chapter that told of all the beasts and creatures documented to be living in Wonderland. Ivy made a mental note to study that like crazy; something inside her head was going off and telling her she would need that information.

"What if I burn it?" Ivy pointed out.

"Then we're SOL aren't we?" Gray deadpanned. "Ivy, just go do it."

"Why do I have to be the one to do it?" Ivy muttered as she walked over to the fireplace, being flanked by the three Role Holders. "We've established the fact that I can be pretty damn clumsy sometimes."

"You're the Outsider who's supposed to find Alice; it's your duty to do this," Peter glared at Ivy, who stuck her tongue out at him as she ripped the blank page out of the historical tome.

"I don't want to burn the whole book if I do set the page on fire," She explained. Ivy took a deep breath. "Okay…here goes." She held the blank sheet of parchment over the hot flames, careful not to let the dried out and ancient paper get licked by the fire. After about a minute, Ivy peered at the page in her hands to see if anything had showed up. She frowned. "Nothing at all."

"Maybe go a little longer?" Nightmare suggested.

"Fine," Ivy waited for about five more minutes, trying to ignore the cramp she was getting in her arm from holding it out for so long. It felt as if pins and needles were flowing through the veins in her skin, and she shifted her arm slightly to get the feeling back. When Ivy figured it had been long enough, she leaned away from the fire and wiped her sweating brow. "Anything?" She asked quietly, holding the page out for the guys to see.

All three shook their heads. "No."

"Well, fuck my life then," Ivy murmured angrily. "I was really hoping that would work." _And I wanted to be all spy-like if it really was invisible ink. Who can say they've literally found a way to make invisible ink appear and then read some secret message? No one unless they're James Bond or something! Dammit, I wanted to act like a spy!_ Ivy started to have a little pity party inside her head, grateful for the fact that she could somehow manage to block Nightmare's mind reading abilities.

The atmosphere inside the little shack suddenly got heavy. Nightmare, Gray, and Peter all looked around wildly, worry clearly plastered on their handsome faces.

"What's wrong?" Ivy asked, feeling a little fearful.

"Something's coming," Gray said quietly. "Something with a very strong aura about them. I can feel it." He looked back at Ivy. "I'd hide if I were you. You're the only one without a weapon."

Ivy was about to retort when the door suddenly busted open as if someone kicked it. Snow swirled madly around the entrance and swept into the warm hut, melting almost instantly on the wooden floor. A figure slowly stepped into the previously abandoned shed and grinned a terrible smile. "Well, well, well…looks like I have some visitors."

The person who had just walked in had skin the shade of a caramel latte. Her windswept hair was a bright green and pulled in a high and severe ponytail, tied together with a camouflage girl was tall and stocky, like a soldier. And, like a soldier, she wore a camouflage skintight vest that showed the soft curves of her breasts. A black coat with white fur hung over her shoulders, opened up for everyone to see her vest. The girl wore dark green leather pants and black combat boot with camouflage ties. Her eyes were the same neon shade as her hair, glittering like poison. The girl had a weapon belt with two guns latched to both sides of her hips and grenades attached all the way around it. On her back, a large broadsword that dwarfed even Ace's was strapped in, sheathed.

"Who are you?" The military wannabe demanded harshly, shaking snow out of her hair. Her gaze swept the room as she took in the four intruders. Her eyes lingered on Ivy and she grinned that frightening smile once more. "Aha! I've seen your image in a mirror. You must be Ivy Cainz then.""H-how do you know my name?" Ivy asked in shock.

"Simple: our master has been watching you ever since that idiot Alice Liddell made contact with you in your dreams," The girl laughed viscously.

"So you're an Alice then, aren't you?" Nightmare asked harshly. Ivy noticed that he was edging closer to her. He was probably trying to make her feel better. _Nightmare…I love you, man._ Ivy thought in a simpering tone.

"Correctomundo, Mr. Gottschalk. The name's Morte. But I'm known as the Alice of War. Or the Alice of Destruction. Whichever one sounds more fun," Morte winked. She then noticed the blank page that Ivy was holding tightly, as well as the books scattered around. The girl's gaze turned angry. "How dare you…! Walk into my home uninvited while I'm out hunting, and then rummage through my possessions like it's just trash!"

"Lord Nightmare, get back!" Gray roared as Morte suddenly lobbed a ball of fire at the group. Anger swirled in her venomous gaze.

All four intruders threw themselves away from the burning orb and it crashed into the bookcase, where it dissipated into thin air. Morte giggled at their confused looks. "As the Alice of War, I have power to control the elements as well as insane fighting skills. It's so I can cause as much destruction as I can."

"That's magic!" Peter whispered in shock as Morte summoned a bolt of lightning into her hands. "She's using magic!"

"Eat this, Role Holder scum!" Morte shrieked, throwing the spear of electricity in the general direction of her enemies. The very tip of it caught Ivy's foot as she scrambled to get away, and she gave a short gasp of shock as her entire foot went numb from the electric currents running through her flesh.

"Ivy!" Nightmare yelled in rage when he saw her get hurt. "You bitch…" Nightmare made his sword materialize in his hands. "I'll make you pay for hurting her!""Ohoho! Mr. Gottschalk has a little crush on the Outsider whore now does he?" Morte sounded smug and pompous. "Be careful, incubus. I can use that information against you."Nightmare didn't deny what Morte had just said; he just stood there in a battle pose, his pale face pink with anger. Or embarrassment. Ivy couldn't tell what.

_Wait. Nightmare isn't denying that statement. Does that mean it's true?_ Ivy thought with a jerk. _Is Nightmare…does he like me? More than as a friend? Or does he just…_Suddenly a blurry memory of Nightmare's voice asking Ivy if she loved him rose to Ivy's mind. Ivy's eyes widened as she recalled her sleepy voice answering yes, and a memory of soft pressure on her lips and a sweet sensation filling her entire body came to the front of Ivy's head. Ivy watched in shock as the three Role Holders and Morte began to fight each other mercilessly, her entire body now numb as if the lightning bolt had struck her in more places than just her foot. _Did Nightmare kiss me or something when I was half-asleep? Is that why I only have a slight memory of it? Oh my God. Oh my GOD. I think he did. I think he freaking KISSED ME. _Ivy's head was swirling with humiliation and disbelief. She was so out of it that she didn't noticed with a large icicle spear suddenly started to rush at her.

"IVY! MOVE!" Nightmare yelled at the top of his lungs as he swiped his sword at the laughing Morte, who was effortlessly dodging and controlling the hurtling icicle with waves of her hands.

Ivy saw the icicle too late. Just before she closed her eyes, she met Nightmare's and saw the intense terror swirling in their purple depths. Ivy patiently waited for the impact of the icicle, mentally apologizing to Nightmare and making sure he could hear her thoughts: _Sorry, Nightmare. Guess my time's up._

But the freezing blow didn't come.

In fact, a cool breeze was all that Ivy felt.

Ivy opened her eyes and saw to her surprise that some type of silvery…force field….was surrounding her body like a cage. A pile of soft snow was inside the silver shell; Ivy realized it was the icicle that had been trying to kill her.

"What the hell?" Morte growled. "Who did that? Who stopped my ice spear?

No one answered. They were all staring in astonishment at Ivy's protective silver bubble.

Ivy blinked rapidly. _Did I do that?_ She thought. Ivy reached up a hand and touched the force field above her head. It felt soft and slippery, but she couldn't get her hand all the way through.

"WHO DID IT?" Morte shrieked. She had grabbed a few grenades off her belt and was looking poised to use them. "Tell me who did that magic, or else I'll destroy you all!" When neither Nightmare, Gray, Peter, or Ivy answered, the Alice of War made a loud yell of outrage and pulled the stoppers on the grenades with her teeth, throwing the bombs haphazardly around the small shack. She blocked the door so that the Role Holders couldn't get out, laughing evilly. "HAH! These bombs won't harm me. You're all going to die now!"

Nightmare, Gray, and Peter were all scrambling for cover. Ivy closed her eyes and put her hands out as some unseen force seemed to guide her as to what to do. "Protect," She whispered, feeling a bit weak as some of her energy left her in a rush. Ivy knew from the surprised gasps that she had successfully created more protective shields around her friends. "So I did do this," Ivy whispered in wonder. "I saved myself! And now these guys too!""DAMN YOU!" Morte screeched as her grenades exploded, doing damage only to the shack and not the inhabitants inside it. Ivy had thought ahead and also placed a defensive shell over the books they had been reading because she knew they were going to need them.

The shack was blown to bits and all that stood was the dying fireplace and burning wood. The air smelled heavily of fire, and bits if burnt books were flying around. The furniture had been incinerated right away as soon as the explosion had happened. Ivy was sad that so many books had been destroyed before she had a chance to look through them.

Ivy kept her strange force field on everyone and everything she had put it on just in case. Getting up from the little patch of unharmed wood she was sitting on, Ivy walked over to the trembling Morte. The silvery sheen followed Ivy's every step. Ivy held out the blank page and cleared her throat. "You know what this is, don't you?" She asked slowly.

Morte simply breathed heavily and snarled at Ivy like a caged animal.

"Answer me. Now," Ivy snapped. She was tired of playing games. "This blank page actually has something on it, doesn't it? You tell us either what it is or how to make it show up, and then you get the hell away from here and tell your precious master he can suck it, because I'm going to put an end to his insane scheme to take over Wonderland and my world. Got it?" When Morte still didn't answer, Ivy acted on instinct and raised her hand. The snow around the Alice of War suddenly snaked around her camouflage-clad body and turned to ice, squeezing the air out of her lungs. "GOT IT?" Ivy roared.

Morte whimpered and nodded. She looked completely pathetic and weak, terrified of Ivy's sudden powers. Ivy put her hand down and the ice shattered, freeing Morte. Morte cleared her throat, then returned to her haughty expression. Smirking evilly, she said so only Ivy could hear, "Blood. That's my clue. I think you'll figure it out." And then, with a devilish laugh, Morte disappeared.

"WAIT! Blood? Like, Blood Dupre? Come back here, dammit!" Ivy demanded.

But it was no use.

Ivy sighed and released her hold on the force fields she had created to protect her companions and the books. Finally really realizing that the remains of the shack were still burning, Ivy followed that same new instinct she had suddenly developed and waved her hand in a circle lazily. A single rain cloud appeared over the burning wreckage and poured a hard and fast rain down on it.

Feeling completely exhausted, Ivy let herself fall into the cold snow as Nightmare ran over to her. "Ivy! That was brilliant! How did you-" He noticed how tired she looked. "Are you all right?" Nightmare asked worriedly. He placed a slender hand on her forehead. "You don't feel warm…""I'm just tired," Ivy croaked. "That…whatever I did took a lot out of me." She mumbled thanks when Gray draped her coat over her. "Morte said 'blood' is the key to that blank piece of paper," Ivy explained as they all started to get themselves back together. "Does she mean that asshole of a Mad Hatter?"

Nightmare was letting Ivy use his lap as a pillow while he made sure she wasn't injured. It took all of Ivy's willpower not to explode by all the blood rushing to her cheeks. "I'm not sure. Perhaps. But we have a more pressing issue right now."

"Like what?" Ivy asked, feeling guilty about loving the feel of Nightmare's legs curling around her head. _I'm such a pervert…_

"Like how in the hell did you save us?" Gray stared into Ivy's eyes.

"You used magic too," Peter added. "That was obvious."

"Maybe because I'm supposedly that special person in the prophecy Alice told me about, I have magic powers," Ivy suggested. "I don't know though." Suddenly an idea hit her. "Someone get me a knife and that blank paper." Ivy had dropped the page in the snow when she had fallen down from exhaustion.

Nightmare, Gray, and Peter all gave each other worried looks when Ivy asked for the knife but they complied anyway. Nightmare slid the empty page into her hands and Gray knelt beside her with the knife in his grasp. "Slice the palm of my hand open, Gray," Ivy commanded.

Gray looked taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"Just do it. I'll be fine."

"But Ivy-"

Instead of listening to him argue with her, Ivy grabbed the knife and quickly sliced a cut into the palm of her hand. The hot red blood that welled up in the wound steamed in the frigid air. Ignoring the Role Holders' panicked questions, Ivy pressed her bleeding hand to the blank paper and stared at the red bloom that was spreading across the dry page. Suddenly, the blood disappeared and in it's place words started to appear in dark black ink, going down the entire sheet. The stinging in Ivy's cut had also disappeared when her blood did from the page-the cut was gone. Ivy grinned and held up the now-filled page in triumph. "See? There was a method to my madness."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't have thought out that," Nightmare muttered, looking relieved that Ivy wasn't entirely hurt.

"You can thank Harry Potter Five," Ivy told him as she peered at the fresh words. (Cookies to whoever gets that reference XD)

"What does it say?" Peter asked.

"Let her read it, White," Gray said to him impatiently. "Ivy just made the words appear with her blood, give her some time!"

Ivy's mouth gaped open and she set the book page down on the snow. "Read it," She whispered. They did.

"_When the fifth one appears, she will be taken_

_And used to create havoc across all the land_

_A sixth one will be called upon_

_To combat the evils at hand_

_Clover and Heart will join together_

_To help the sixth tell scale from feather_

_She alone will have the powers_

_To stop the master's evil flowers_

_The fifth one's soul waits, so tarry not!Lest all of Wonderland turns to rot."_

Nightmare, Gray, and Peter stared at Ivy. "Well…it sure rhymes," Nightmare muttered.

"But do you guys understand it?" Ivy asked, sounding extremely terrified. "I do, somehow. I understand it word for word. 'The fifth one' is Alice, and she's going to be used to create the Alice of Perfection so Creed can utilize her as a weapon for taking over the world. 'The sixth one' is me, and I have the abilities to stop him for some reason. The reason we're 'fifth' and 'sixth' is because there must be four previous 'Alices'. We just haven't met the last one. That bit about scales and feathers means lies and truths I'm pretty sure, because in this one religion there's this thing called 'the feather of truth'…the 'master's evil flowers' are the other Alices, and 'the fifth one's soul' is Alice's soul. If I don't save her from Creed, and he succeeds in turning her into his world domination weapon, Wonderland will be finished. And my world too."

Ivy took a shaky breath. "And I think I know what my 'powers' are."

"Well, what is it?" Peter asked. He, Gray, and Nightmare were on all the edge.

"My imagination."

They were all silent for a moment.

Then Nightmare stared into Ivy's eyes. The effect was startling, being that Ivy's head was still in his lap. Her face heated up even more than it already was. "And you're sure about this?"

Ivy nodded. "I imagined something shielding me when that icicle was going to kill me. I imagined something protecting you guys from the grenades. I imagined Morte being trapped by ice. And lastly, I imagined the remainder of the shack being soaked by rain so it would stop burning. I'm sure it's my imagination that the prophecy is talking about. Besides, if you think about it, it's like magic," Ivy launched into the explanation she had thought of. "And in that book about Wonderland's history, it said something about Wonderland being created by a powerful force of magic or something. What if it wasn't magic, but imagination? And it's been fueled all this time by the imaginations of humans in my world. That's what I think. It's the only explanation I can think of at this moment."

Nightmare stroked Ivy's cheek very tenderly then, and her eyes widened as he bent towards her face. But all he did was whisper against her forehead. "I'm very proud of you for making it this far, Ivy. I know it's been tough." He turned his attention to Peter. "Peter, use that teleportation diagram you found to go back to Heart Castle and explain to Vivaldi and everyone what's going on. Gray and I will continue with Ivy until we find this Creed guy."

"Don't you want me to come back?" Peter asked, looking a bit miffed.

"Yes, but only when we need it. Then, use that spell and bring all the Role Holders who agree to help save Alice. I'll call on you in your dreams when we locate Alice's precise location, then wait for your backup," Nightmare clarified. "Understand?" Peter nodded. "Then get going. And tell everyone to be careful; you never know if those other evil Alices are waiting for you."

Peter nodded again and got out the teleporting spell he had discovered. Giving a tentative wave to Ivy and Gray, he quickly spoke the incantation and disappeared within the diagram drawn inside then book, which then vanished out of thin air.

"All right guys," Nightmare helped Ivy up and patted her in the head reassuringly. "Now is when it all gets more dangerous than before. That Morte girl said Creed was watching you in a mirror or something, right?" Nightmare asked her.

"I think so," Ivy replied.

"Then maybe just to be safe, you should stay away from reflective things from now on." Gray pointed out. "Maybe every time your image is reflected in glass or water, Creed can somehow see where you are.""But then how am I supposed to-" Ivy broke off, about to ask how she was going to make sure she looked good when she got ready, but she realized how stupid that sounded. "Never mind," Ivy muttered quickly.

"I'm going to say something I kind of always wanted to say now," Nightmare got into a stance he thought looked manly, with one hand up in a salute and the other clenched like he was going to punch Gray in the face. "This is war!"

**I wonder if anyone has realized how I'm making these "other Alices" yet…oh well, I'm sure you guys will when I introduce the fourth and last one. And yes, that prophecy was childish, but it was the best I have. Those things are hard to make; how do people do it? Ahem…anyway, hoped you enjoyed this chapter. See? It was actiony! And I kind of got the whole "imagination rules Wonderland" from Frank Beddor's "The Looking Glass Wars" series but I didn't completely pilfer the idea. I put my own twist to it as you can see, and only have it so Ivy uses it. Because she's bad-ass and all. ^_^ Please review because that makes me feel happy and it possibly makes updates faster!**


	13. How To Slay Your Jabberwocky

**Haha, I'm updating earlier than usual! Yay! That means I have no life! :D Thanks for 70 reviews so far, it means a lot. And congrats to those of you who figured out what I base my whole "evil Alices" thing off of. Now, detasseling is starting soon (when you give corn stalks birth control pretty much) and I will be doing that for a bit so updates will be slow during that time period. Please enjoy chapter 13! It will most likely be just be an informational chapter with Ivy trying to figure out her newfound abilities better, but I'm going to mush in some major ROOOOMAAAANCE! XD**

**Chapter Thirteen**

Ivy, Nightmare, and Gray made it out of the ice-covered wastelands as soon as they could manage, only stopping once for a quick rest and to eat. They wanted to find Alice quickly. It was even more imperative now that they knew the prophecy's exact words. When the three had exited the Arctic-like area of Wonderland, they found themselves journeying through yet another extreme environment: the volcanic plains. The sweltering heat wasn't the only thing that made this area so inhabitable to the human population of Wonderland; the rotten egg smell from the brimstone in the volcanoes and the dangerous creatures that prowled the plains also deterred anyone with a brain from entering it.

And even though Ivy, Nightmare, and Gray definitely had brains, they had no other choice but to check out the volcanic plains for anymore hints on Alice's whereabouts. Also, Ivy felt that it was a good area to practice using her imagination, which seemed reluctant to reveal itself now that she wasn't in immediate danger.

For the fifth time since the group had entered the volcanic plains, Ivy cursed like a sailor and growled angrily while staring at her hands. "Dammit! Why can't I even do something as simple as summoning a cube of ice in my hands?"

"Maybe because it melts in this heat whenever you get it to work, and it's so fast that you can't tell?" Nightmare suggested, wiping sweat off his brow. Now that they were in the hottest area of Wonderland, they had shed their winter clothes for lighter outfits that looked pretty much exactly like their regular clothes except that they were made of a lighter fiber. Nightmare's exotic attire was dripping with sweat as he trudged alongside Gray and Ivy, and he kept having to stop to take a break so he wouldn't vomit up blood.

"Lord Nightmare, do you need some water?" Gray asked, holding out the large water bottle out to his boss. Before they had reached the volcanic plains, Gray had stuffed as many water bottles as he could carry with tons of snow and ice so they would have a good water supply while traveling.

Nightmare nodded and took the bottle, chugging it and instantly looking a bit better. "Thanks, Gray. How many more of these do we have left?"

Gray checked his bag that was swung over his shoulder. "Fifteen, I think. If Ivy can manage to get her imagination working again, she can summon more water for us when we need it."

Nightmare and Gray stared pointedly at the black haired girl, who was still grumbling in a pissed tone to herself. Her clothes consisted of a white tank top with a vividly purple iris spiraling down her left breast over a thin long sleeved grey t-shirt to cover up her arms. Skin-tight black pants made out off some type of especially thin (yet surprisingly durable) Wonderland fiber protected her legs from the steam that emitted from the ground, as well as thick black shoes not unlike Gray's that prevented Ivy from stabbing herself through the feet on a pointed rock. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail with small tendrils drifting around her face which stuck to her skin from all the perspiration clinging to her. Ivy didn't even THINK about asking how or why Nightmare and Gray had picked that particular assortment of clothing for her to wear; she was afraid to hear the answer. Ivy narrowed her eyes, their emerald and sapphire sheens glittering in annoyance and anger. "Work, damn you!" She yelled at her useless hands.

But nothing appeared in her spread out palms.

Ivy sighed in defeat and slumped a little where she stood. "I give up. It's obviously not going to work unless I'm about to die or something." She gazed hopefully at Nightmare and Gray. "Unless you guys know some way to make my imagination work again, and make me feel all kick ass like I did when Morte attacked us."

Both Role Holders held up their hands. "Sorry, we have no clue," Nightmare apologized, looking guilty. "I really wish we did, because those shields you placed over us were really handy and I'd feel better if I knew they were going to appear quickly if we ever need them again."

"We can try to help you after we find a suitable place to take a break," Gray suggested. "This isn't the best area to just stop and talk; jabberwocky are probably hiding in those caves over there," He pointed to the rocky crags ahead of them that made up one of the many volcanoes. On the side was a large cave mouth with steam rising from it. Everywhere the group looked, it was pretty much the same scenery: lava rivers, rocks, absolutely no vegetation save for a few straggly weeds, volcanoes, cliffs, bones of various creatures…after thirty seconds of arriving in the volcanic plains, Ivy had instantly wanted to rush back to the snowfields and brave the cold rather than the smelly heat. At least the snowfields had been pretty and fun, whereas the volcanic plains had the definite are of danger and violence.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ivy nodded. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, but…how the hell do you slay a jabberwocky? Because if you say it involves the Vorpal Sword, I swear I will laugh my ass off." Ivy smirked a little, remembering the jabberwocky poem of the original Alice in Wonderland and also the recent movie where Alice Liddell became pretty much a warrior chick who kicked jabberwocky ASS.

"Actually, according to that book I picked up in Morte's cabin, Vorpal Swords DID exist back in the old days of Wonderland," Gray's tone instantly turned to that of a school teacher's as the three walked through the desolate and scorching volcano region. "They were given to the best soldiers of the armies of any of the four countries. Vorpal Swords could pierce through anything, be it armor or jabberwocky hide. They all disappeared awhile ago, though. No one knows what happened to the stock of the weapons. It's like they just faded away, like corpses do in Wonderland." Gray looked as if he was trying to hide a smug smile, obviously cocky about the wealth of information he had memorized already from his book.

"That's great Gray, but how do we kill them NOW? With no Vorpal Sword?" Nightmare's eyebrow twitched in agitation. The incubus wasn't used to his loyal employee being a bit arrogant, it seemed.

The Lizard shrugged, his lizard tattoo on his neck seeming to shake its shoulders as well as Gray moved. "Your guess is as good as mine. I'd say aim for the underside; it's supposed to be the least-tough area of a jabberwocky's skin." Gray scratched his chin in thought. "Ivy, didn't that history of Wonderland book have something on the creatures inhabiting it?"

"Yeah." Ivy nodded. "Why?"

"Maybe it lists the weaknesses of a jabberwocky."

"OH! You might be right! Here, I'll get it out right now," Ivy reached into her bag and pulled out the ancient tome of Wonderland's past. Flipping rapidly through its musty pages, Ivy found the section on Wonderland's beasts and searched for a mention of the jabberwocky species. It was at the very end. Scanning the page as she walked (and making sure she didn't run into anything or trip) Ivy read out loud, " '_The jabberwocky is probably the most feared creature of Wonderland. With its ability to fly, its poisonous fangs, its spiked tail, its deadly talons, its thick hide, and ability to breathe fire the jabberwocky is almost impossible to defeat in battle. They are especially plentiful in the volcanic regions that reside in the north, which are also right across from the snowfields. It is believed that the jabberwocky species migrate yearly to the ice-covered land to breed, then travel back to the volcanic plains to raise their offspring and live for the rest of the season.' _Dear God, there is a LOT about jabberwocky in here." Ivy stopped reading so she could catch her breath.

"Anything about killing them?" Nightmare asked hopefully, handing Ivy the water bottle Gray was motioning to give her; she was beginning to look dehydrated slightly.

Mumbling thanks, Ivy took a swig of water and tossed the bottle back to Gray. She read on. " '_Recently, there has been talk in the four countries of raising a herd of jabberwocky for military purposes. However, it is still unclear at this stage whether or not that will happen. Jabberwocky are extremely vicious creatures that require large bribes if a human wants them to do something, and even then the beasts will just take the reward and kill the poor unfortunate soul who was idiotic enough to go to them for help. There are a couple proven ways to kill a jabberwocky, and only the most skilled warriors usually manage to do the job.' _I think this is what we're looking for!" Ivy's voice pitched with excitement. Nightmare and Gray leaned in towards her so they could completely comprehend every word Ivy was speaking. " '_The most quick and efficient way to slay a jabberwocky is to use a Vorpal Sword, a blade which only the strongest imagination has been used to create…'_ " Ivy trailed off and stared at the page, her eyes wide with shock.

"Did you just say imagination was used to make Vorpal Swords?" Gray asked swiftly.

Ivy nodded. "It…says so…right there, in black and white."

"Keep reading," Nightmare urged her.

"O-okay. '_Since jabberwocky are beings made of pure evil, only a Vorpal Sword made with the purest intentions of the creator can destroy their heart. Unlike the other beings living in Wonderland, a jabberwocky's heart is not a clock-it is a shriveled up black organ. A sharp thrust in the right side of the chest will paralyze the creature, and then the wielder of the sword can poke around to find the heart. Once they do, it is imperative they pierce the organ as quickly as possible and then drag it out of the chest cavity using the blade. This can be gruesome work, but if done correctly, the jabberwocky will turn to ash as soon as the heart if removed. Vorpal Armor will protect you from the jabberwocky's attacks, and it's process of creation is similar to the Vorpal Sword.'" _Ivy stopped reading and looked at Gray and Nightmare. "Guys…what if I can get my imagination to work and I can make these Vorpal stuff? It's obvious back in the old days of Wonderland, they used imagination for a lot of things!"

"I'll look in my predecessor's account of his time as Master of Clover Tower and see if I can find any mention of imagination, Ivy." Nightmare promise sincerely. "Now please, if you don't mind, continue reading."

" '_If you are facing a jabberwocky with no Vorpal Sword or Armor,_ _your chances of survival are very slim at best.' _Oh, great. That's comforting. '_Your only other option would be to somehow convince the beast to reach into its chest and rip out its own heart. This has been attempted only a few times, and each occasion it was an accomplished imagination user who had the capability to twist the jabberwocky's mind with their own mind's eye.'_" Ivy skimmed the rest of the entry on jabberwocky, but it was clear that was the only other mention of killing one. The rest of the paragraph consisted of ways to characterize a male jabberwocky from a female one and the different mating seasons that changed every five years (In Wonderland time).

"Well, that was useful," Ivy muttered angrily, slamming the book shut and stuffing it back in her bag. "Thanks for nothing, you stupid book. You might as well have told us the one hundred ways to die from a freaking jabberwocky."

"Actually, it gave us quite a plethora of information. Yes, I know big words," Nightmare snapped when Gray gave him a surprised look. "We know that imagination was definitely a weapon of a sorts back in the past. And luckily, we have an Outsider who has the ability to harness hers!" Nightmare grinned at Ivy, who simply glowered even more. She was really pissed with herself about not being able to make her imagination work again. "Gray, have you looked in your weapons directory to see if there's any entry about the Vorpal collection?"

Gray shook his head and pulled out his book. "I'll start looking now, though."

Nightmare stretched his arms up high over his head and yawned. "I hope we find somewhere to stop, soon. I need a nap. All this endless walking is really making me exhausted. I'm just glad I haven't thrown up blood yet," He joked, looking Ivy in the eye.

Ivy frowned and looked really worried. "Don't even joke about that. This is the last place you'd want to have one of your coughing fits. Plus, I don't know if I could take it, you getting all sick and almost possibly dying…" She trailed off, her face flushing a brighter pink than usual. It wasn't because of the intense heat, either. _Why do I blush so much now? I mean, I know I'm in love with Nightmare and all that, but honestly…this blushing thing has got to stop. _Ivy mentally rolled her eyes as another thought passed through her mind. _Thank God I'm only surrounded by two sexy guys instead of a whole harem like Alice was before Creed kidnapped her. I'd be constantly red and pink if I had been in her situation._

_\_The earth suddenly began to shake just then, shards of rocks on the ground shuddering against the crusty dirt. In the distance behind the volcano in front of them, Ivy and her two male escorts heard an echoing rumble that sounded like liquid being force out of a small opening. A stronger scent of brimstone assaulted their nostrils, and they all gagged from the stench. "A volcano must have just erupted," Gray said, his voice sounding nasally because he was plugging his nose. "We should find a safe place to stop if one went off so close to us."

Nightmare and Ivy didn't have to be told twice, and they matched Gray's hastening pace as he marched on to find a safe haven amongst the land of death they had entered.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

A safe haven actually did exist in the volcanic plains: it was in the form of an underwater hot spring. Gray had stumbled across a small hole in the side of one of the mountainous cliffs, and the three had entered it in hopes of finding a secure cavern with no awaiting jabberwocky within its depth. Instead, Ivy, Nightmare, and Gray had discovered-much to their delight-a sort of natural set of stairs that led down to a steaming hot spring. Nature had obviously been at work; the underground lake was surround by a large cavern with a ceiling so high and spacious that Ivy's excited voice echoed through it a dozen times. Steam rose from the water in high vapors, and the water wasn't overly hot like they expected from a hot spring in the middle of an area with active volcanoes. There were natural steam vents punched through the rock walls all over the place, allowing the heat to seep out and not have it so stifling and unbearable.

Instantly, Gray and Nightmare went to work studying the texts of their books to see if they could discern any information about the uses of imagination back in Wonderland's past or a guide to creating the Vorpal Swords and Armor. Ivy, on the other hand, took advantage of the large quantity of water in front of her and desperately tried to get her imagination to work, attempting to make some of the steaming water rise in a sphere and cool it off so they could use it for drinking water.

However, she was having no such luck.

"If that water was a person, I'd rape it!" Ivy hissed under her breath irately. Then, realizing what she had just said, Ivy looked to see if Nightmare of Gray had heard her odd threat. Luckily, both of them were sitting on the rocky ground, fiercely absorbed in their books and paying no attention to her efforts to harness her imagination. "Humph. And they said they would help me with this," Ivy clenched her fist and raised it in a salute to the hot spring almost, hoping maybe that would make the water rise in the air. When nothing happened for about a minute, Ivy sighed and sank to the ground. She dipped her finger in the warm and soothing lagoon, watching as the ripples fanned out. "Well, I guess they are in a way. Nightmare is trying to find any mention of imagination in that old Clover Tower dude's journal thingy, and Gray's trying to look up the Vorpal crap."

Ivy smiled softly at the two Clover Role Holders. She didn't dare say it out loud just in case Gray's assassin senses picked up on her whisper, so Ivy thought in an affectionate tone, _I really do love those two. Nightmare as a…well, as a boyfriend, And Gray…he's like the big brother I never had. My HOT big brother. _Ivy giggled as she thought of how all the girls at her school would react if she returned back home with Nightmare and Gray in tow; the dream demon as her boyfriend and the former killer/assassin as a sort of bodyguard. They would all either flip out, accuse her of pimping, try to steal both Wonderland denizens for their own, and many other intricate situations that entered Ivy's brain. Then she started to laugh really hard, holding her stomach and shaking with mirth on the ground. "I-Ivy the PIMP!" She giggled, wiping tears from her eyes as an image of herself surrounded by the entire male cast of Wonderland and wearing a thick gold chain with a large and heavy golden "I" hanging from it, one of her teeth blacked out and a gangster hat perched atop her black hair.

Nightmare and Gray seemed to realize Ivy was still with them and they looked up from their reading materials, staring at Ivy with bemused expression plastering their faces. "Um, Ivy?" Nightmare asked tentatively. "Are you all right?"

Ivy nodded and slowly sobered. "U-uh huh. Just had a funny thought is all. Nothing else!" She bounded over to where her companions sat and peered down at their books. "Find anything yet? I've been trying to raise the water for a pretty long time and it's not working, so I need a break before I explode."

"You've been practicing using your imagination without us?' Gray asked in surprise. Nightmare's face mirrored his loyal employee's tone of voice. "We said we would help you."

Ivy shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, you guys were so busy reading that I didn't want to disturb you. Besides, you ARE helping me. Both of you are trying to find information about my abilities pretty much, and I couldn't ask for more. Really," Ivy grinned widely at the two of them. "thank you so much for all the help you've given me while I've been here. I don't know how to thank you, other than finding Alice. I feel like I need to do something else."

Nightmare's pale face was suddenly bright pink, and he pitched forward to cough up a bright spot of red blood on the ground. Gray patted Nightmare's back and handed him some water. "Lord Nightmare! Are you all right?"

Nightmare nodded. "Yeah…I was just happy, is all."

Ivy remembered something like this happening in the manga when Alice told Nightmare she liked him. Like the other Outsider girl, Ivy had the same reaction as Alice did: "And you puked up blood because you were HAPPY?"

"Shut up, I can't help it!" Nightmare whined defensively. "Gray…! Ivy's making fun of my weak disposition!"

"I don't feel sorry for you at all, you know." Gray deadpanned.

"WHAT? Why the hell not?"

"Because you just bring it upon yourself by not seeing a doctor."

"…how many times do I have to tell you guys? Hospitals are damned EVIL!"

"Lord Nightmare, they are not. They HELP people."

"Then maybe you should go to one right now if you love hospitals so freaking much."

"We're in the middle of the WASTELANDS, you idiot."

"…I knew that…"

Ivy tittered as she watched the two Clover Role Holders bicker with each other. She could plainly see the tight bond between the two; they were practically inseparable now that Ivy thought about it. She could also tell that secretly both Nightmare and Gray enjoyed their little arguments. Both were obviously fighting the urge to grin at each other. _Boys…_Ivy shook her head in wonder. _I'll never understand them, even if I spend my whole life surrounded by the sexy men of Wonderland._

"Oh, Ivy, I do think I found something. I was about to yell at you before you asked us," Nightmare immediately ceased his fighting with Gray and looked down at his book. "This is all I can find, though. I don't know if it will help. '_The last prominent imagination user was found dead today. I just got the word. Apparently she was a member of the Hatter crime syndicate family in the Country of Hearts. She was older than I thought most Wonderlandians survived; apparently she had been born just before imagination really took a hit, which was along the same time all the Vorpal weapons disappeared mysteriously. The poor woman's name hasn't been given out yet, but news of her death are quickly spreading all over Wonderland. Apparently a young Hatter servant walked into the woman's room and her corpse was fading on the ground, leaving only her clock behind. The maid did manage to see that a gun was in the woman's disappearing hands, though. It's possible that she simply shot herself out of grief about being the only imagination user left in Wonderland. Anyway, in other news, the treaty negotiations between us and the Diamond royalty are going fine; just a few more days and it should be official…'_ That's all. The rest just talks about how stubborn the Diamond sovereign had been and how difficult it was to make them accept a treaty."

Ivy did a mental double take when Nightmare mentioned the woman's clock. She had forgotten the citizens of Wonderland had clocks for hearts. Ivy stabbed herself in her mind; how the hell could she have forgotten that pertinent piece of information? It was a whole big part of the plot of _Alice in the Country of Hearts_ wasn't it? Ivy found herself staring at Nightmare's chest, as if she had X-ray vision that would allow her to see the ticking clock that nestled within the dream demon.

"I also found the description of Vorpal Swords," Gray said to Ivy, who was now thinking about the poor Hatter lady. Ivy really didn't like Blood Dupre, but she wondered if she would have liked the woman who was died. "It's basically what your Wonderland history book said, that both the swords and armor need to be created with pure intentions through a strong imagination. The book doesn't describe a detailed step-by-step instructions on how to create either the Vorpal Sword or the Vorpal Armor, though." Gray added in a hollow voice.

"Thanks, you two. It isn't much, but it helps," Ivy nodded sincerely. She yawned, realizing how tired she was. "I think we should get some sleep."

Gray and Nightmare both nodded. "Good idea," The two said. They were obviously as beat as Ivy was from all the running around they'd been doing lately. All three companions each got out their sleeping bags and pillows (once again Ivy marveled at the amazing holding capacity of the packs; she wondered just what exactly allowed them to fit so much crap inside them) and laid them out. Since it was plenty warm inside the cavern, none of them were going to actually get inside their sleeping bags. Instead, they would merely lie on top of them.

Once Ivy said her goodnights to both Nightmare and Gray, she fell fast asleep and found herself once more walking the lonely corridors of the dream realm.

Ivy was wearing a lavender sun dress that billowed out around her legs as she walked through the same field of flowers she and Nightmare had sat in not too long ago, when she was telling him about her life. A bright sun warmed her cheeks, and the air was fresh with the scent of all the various types of flowers around her. Ivy sighed happily, walking over to the stream that had appeared since last time. Apparently, her dream world liked to evolve. Birds chirped from the trees hanging over the babbling brook, and tiny darts of silver signified fish swimming through the cool water. "Too bad the wastelands can't look like THIS," Ivy mused to herself, soaking her feet in the creek. Even though it was only a dream, Ivy instantly felt refreshed after resting her legs in the water.

"Wow. Your dreams are always so pretty, Ivy."

Ivy spun around to see Nightmare grinning at her pleasantly. He was wearing a white shirt with ruffles in the chest and sleeves, brown leather pants, and his cool black boots. _With his eye patch, Nightmare almost looks like a pirate in those clothes!_ Ivy giggled as the thought popped up in her brain. "Hey, Nightmare. You enjoy creeping on my dreams, don't you?"

Nightmare looked embarrassed. "Well…when Peter was still with us, his were all creepy ones about Alice. And Gray has boring dreams where he does chores and stuff. At least yours are either relaxing or interesting." He settled down next to her, pulling his boots off and dipping his toes in the water.

"Glad I amuse you," Ivy smirked. "By the way, did you know you look like a pirate in that outfit?"

Nightmare's face brightened. "I do? Yes! That's what I was going for!"

"…what?"

"When I was still a faceless child, before I got the role of Caterpillar, I always wanted to be a pirate," Nightmare's purple eye swam with memories. "I would dress up in these type of clothes, wear an eye patch even though I didn't really have any eyes…I even found a bird that I trained to stay on my shoulder. When I became part of the ones with duties, I made sure I would look kind of like a pirate since I always wanted to. Of course, nowadays I don't hold that strong of a conviction for it, but I still enjoy my appearance." Nightmare grinned, his face turning instantly into a sexy playboy profile.

Ivy looked down to avoid ,meeting his eyes, because she knew she was blushing. Then Ivy thought of something. "…so you really don't have any need for the eye patch? You just wear it to…look like a pirate?"

Now it was Nightmare's turn to blush. His pale face turned bright red and he stammered out, "U-uh…well, I…y-you see…" Nightmare sighed and looked down. "Yeah…pretty much."

"Well, take it off then."

"Excuse me?" Nightmare glanced at Ivy in shock.

Ivy was surprised at how bold she was feeling. Then again, in her dreams she normally was. "Take off your eye patch. Let me see both of your eyes. Please?"

The two of them looked at each other in an awkward silence for a few long seconds. Then, just when Ivy thought he wasn't going to, Nightmare slowly reached up and untied the string that held the eye patch together. The little triangle-like shape of fabric fluttered down from his face and Ivy stared at the two vividly violet orbs that were bearing into her very soul. In the breeze, Nightmare's silver hair waved in front of his eyes, and Ivy felt herself almost falling into their iridescent depths.

"How do I look?" Nightmare asked in an almost sultry tone. He leaned in towards Ivy's face slightly. She could see Nightmare's eyelashes quiver as he blinked.

"Not like a pirate anymore," Ivy was proud of herself for keeping the tremble out of her voice. "More like…a prince in his pajamas."

"Then you look like a princess in her nightgown," Nightmare whispered. He brought his slender hand up to Ivy's hair and tugged the hair tie out of it that was keeping her ponytail up. Her ebony hued hair fell down and immediately began whipping around her face in the soft but constant breeze that blew through her dream meadow. "And a princess always needs a prince, right?"

Ivy didn't know what was happening. All at once, her fuzzy memory of Nightmare possibly kissing her when she was half-asleep assaulted her mind. Ivy just knew she wanted to kiss him right here and now, and remember every detail in its full glory. Gulping to get rid of the lump in her throat, Ivy replied in a soft tone, "And sometimes princesses like their princes a little…bad. Like, pirate bad."

"Would a dream demon be bad enough for the princess sitting in front of me?" Despite her feet being submerged in cold water, Ivy's entire body heated up at that oh-so-sexy inquiry. The shudder that ran through her was followed by a feeling of intense longing.

Ivy nodded drowsily. Her whole body was trying to go against her command and just jump on Nightmare this second, kissing him into oblivion. "You don't even have to ask."

The distance between their faces was so little that all that Nightmare had to do was tip his body forwards just very slightly, and his lips were pressed firmly onto Ivy's. Ivy's mouth seemed to instinctively know what to do, responding to Nightmare's kiss softly. The incubus's arms wrapped around her waist, and Ivy felt her hands creeping up to rest on Nightmare's chest. She could feel each movement of him as he breathed. One of Nightmare's hands inched upwards and tangled itself in her crazy, windswept hair. The little pricks of pain from his fingers twisting around her curls made Ivy want Nightmare even more than she thought she would. Ivy pressed herself closer to him as his tongue suddenly rapped against her closed lips. Without missing a beat, she opened her mouth ever so slightly and gave a little squeak when that seemingly foreign object slithered into her mouth. It felt weird for a grand total of three milliseconds, but then Ivy wrapped her own tongue around Nightmare's and the two danced like snakes being charmed by a flute. Nightmare tasted like everything good in the entire universe melted into one thing, and then some. A moan escaped from Nightmare's throat as he twisted her body onto the ground, sliding onto of her and stroking a bit of bare shoulder where her dress strap was sliding from the movement.

Nightmare broke away then, breathing just as heavily as Ivy under him. "I love you," He whispered in a husky voice. "I don't know why, when I'm supposed to want only Alice Liddell…but I do. I've fallen in love with you, Ivy Cainz." His purple eyes slid over Ivy's throat, then lips, then down to her heaving chest. "I love the way you laugh. I love the way you smile." Nightmare dropped his voice so that it was only a mere whisper against her throat as he lowered his mouth to her sensitive skin there. "I love the way you fit in with Wonderland, even when people from here are trying to kill you."

As his tongue rasped over her collarbone, Ivy whimpered with longing. _Oh, God…_ She squeezed her eyes shut and shivered when Nightmare's hands slipped just under her dress, stroking the skin of her hips in a rhythmic circle. Everywhere Nightmare touched her, Ivy felt like her body was going up in flames. "I love you too," Ivy managed to get out as Nightmare planted a series of sensuous kisses against her neck, moving up and down in a consecutive pattern. "I think I've been in love with you…from the start."

"That's good," Nightmare chuckled. He abandoned her throat and just stared at her. Ivy's face was flushed with want, her entire body trembling in need. Beads of sweat were popping out at her forehead, right under her bangs. "I didn't know I had this much of an effect on you, Ivy," The dream demon's teasing lilt caressed Ivy's eardrums, and she wanted him to say so many things to her just then. Things that Ivy would normally find either provocative or embarrassing on any other day. Nightmare lowered his body a little so that she could feel the heat rolling off of him as his chest brushed against hers. Ivy's cleavage-always smaller than she would have liked at the age of sixteen-was touching Nightmare now. She closed her eyes in embarrassment. "Don't be embarrassed, Ivy," Nightmare whispered. He was obviously reading her mind-Ivy must have let her defenses drop because of the stress Nightmare was putting on her. "You're beautiful. From every angle, every aspect. You're gorgeous."

"Nightmare…" Ivy felt tears pricking at her eyes. Nightmare made her feel like a whole different person. Someone strong and confident, someone…beautiful. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder. "Thank you," Ivy murmured against Nightmare's skin. "Thank you for everything. For falling in love with a person like me, for protecting me, for calling me beautiful…thank you." Ivy moved her head down to his chest and listened to the rapid ticking of his heart that was a clock. For some reason, she loved that sound. it was melodic and repetitive. It was...calming. It wasn't frightening, like Alice had thought. Ivy wanted to listen to Nightmare's chest forever.

"I couldn't imagine myself doing anything otherwise," Nightmare rumbled against her with quiet laughter. "I'm so glad it was you that I found to bring here."

"You and me both." Ivy pulled away and smiled at Nightmare, her eyes slightly puffy from the silent tears that had fallen from them while Ivy's face had been buried against Nightmare's chest and shoulder.

Nightmare placed a soft kiss against Ivy's mouth, a spicy touch that left a sweet taste lingering on her tongue. "You'll always be my beautiful dreaming princess, Ivy." He promised sincerely as he held her. Ivy's subconscious must have willed it, because suddenly the entire field of flowers turned to nothing but roses and irises. The wind gained more speed and the flower petals began to fall off and stroke softly against Nightmare and Ivy's cheeks and arms as the drifted past, landing in the creek and drifting away like little red, pink, and violet boats.

Ivy stared around her in amazement. "…my mind is secretly a genius in pretty scenery involving flowers, I think."

Nightmare laughed, a full-bodied chuckle that caused him to shake with mirth against her. Ivy grinned and laughed too.

But like everything else in life, moments like the one Ivy and Nightmare were haven't couldn't last forever. Gray's startled voice suddenly entered Ivy's dreamscape, thundering across the field of roses and irises. "Ivy! Wake up! I can't get Nightmare to wake up, and I think there's something here!"

Ivy and Nightmare stared at each other in worry and everything became black at once. Nightmare disappeared from Ivy's arms, and she opened her eyes to Gray's anxious face staring at her. "What's wrong?" Ivy asked. She wasn't even tired and grumpy like she usually was about being woken to rudely.

"Nightmare won't wake up, and I-"

"Hi Gray!' Gray jumped a bit when Nightmare poked him on the shoulder and waved at him with a happy smile. "You said my name?"

Gray glared at the silver-haired dream demon before continuing what he was trying to tell Ivy. "I heard someone or something moving around in this cave, and it woke me up. I don't know what it is, and I wanted to make sure you two were alert in case we needed to fight an intruder or something."

Ivy looked around at the dimly lit cavern, her gaze scanning the hot spring's calm waters and all the corners she could see. She couldn't hear anything though. Turning her attention back to Gray and trying very hard not to run into Nightmare's arms and have him kiss her until she was senseless, Ivy said in a hushed tone, "Do you think it could be one of Creed's cronies?"

"Maybe," Gray nodded.

"That guy just won't let us have a nice relaxing time before throwing one of his little brats at us, won't he?" Nightmare glowered at the wall in annoyance. Ivy could tell he was a bit annoyed with Gray for interrupting the little…make-out session Ivy and Nightmare had been having inside her dream. But Ivy could also tell Nightmare was worried that someone could be watching them.

"Damn you, Creed!" Ivy hissed angrily. "You ruin everything! Just you wait until we find you and kick your sorry ass."

"Are you searching for my master?"

Ivy, Nightmare, and Gray all stared at each other in shock as a soft female voice echoed around them. None of them said anything.

"I assume that silence means you are." To the groups right, where the cavern was mostly dark, the shadows shifted and a sound of light footsteps started to come closer. "I regret to inform of this, however; despite the fact that you have come this far, I'm afraid I will have to kill you now." A figure was almost visible to Ivy, Nightmare, and Gray now. "Because you see…no one gets to my master without my permission first, and you most certainly are not suitable company for my dear Lord Creed."

And then the fourth Alice stepped forward, in all her evil glory.

**MUAHAHAHAHA. I just love cliffhangers. :D I'm such a pervert though, I was totally smirking the whole time I wrote that NightmareXIvy scene. That scene was what originally made me write this story, because it popped up in my head one day. I've been waiting for such a long time to get to it! ^/^ I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and sorry about all that information I packed in here. There IS a purpose for it, as you will see in the last couple chapters. Please review! You know you want to, because this chapter was BITCHIN'. :3**


	14. Turning Up The Heat

**I'm surprisingly not as exhausted as I thought I was going to be despite the fact of getting an average of 5 hours of sleep and working an average of 6 hours in the hot sun during detasseling. Sure, I keep getting dehydrated, but the worst is my hands hurting from grabbing the cornstalks. I can't type very well…TT^TT Ahem. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter. It's not as long as I'd have liked it to be, but I got in everything that I planned for this chapter, so I'm leaving it as it is. :3**

**Chapter Fourteen**

The girl standing in front of the group wasn't like the previous four evil Alices. She seemed almost…nice. The aura of malevolence wasn't as strong, and she wasn't smirking or glaring at Ivy, Nightmare, or Gray. She just sort of stared blankly at the three of them. The fourth Alice had blonde hair tied with a single hair tie on either side of her head, and her eyes were the color of topaz. She, like all the other Alices, had a pretty face. She wore a yellow maid's outfit with a white bow tied around her waist. "I am the Alice of Obedience," The girl stated in her monotone voice. "My name is Charlotte. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, and I will take great care in providing you three with honorable deaths."

"Like hell you will!" Ivy snarled. "We're not dying by the likes of you! We still have to find Alice!"

"My master told me you would say that." Charlotte blinked slowly. She had the personality of a lobotomized cow almost. "Master Creed knows a lot of things."

"Does he know we're going to kick his sorry ass?" Ivy asked harshly.

"That will not be possible. You will be disposed of before that can happen."

"She acts like a robot," Gray whispered to Nightmare and Ivy. "It's kind of disturbing." The Lizard was staring right at the Alice of Obedience as she came towards them.

"Poor thing…" Nightmare frowned. "That bastard Creed has twisted all these girls' minds and souls around his sticky little fingers. I'm going to make sure I punch him in the face before we take him down for real."

Ivy ran up to Charlotte, who stopped in surprise. "You don't have to follow Creed!" Ivy said, shaking the blonde girl's shoulders. "He's just using you to get what he wants. We can save you, and the other Alices too! All you have to do is lead us to Creed, and we'll take care of the rest-" Ivy couldn't finish what she was saying, because Charlotte suddenly grabbed Ivy's arms and pulled them away from her shoulders. In one brief moment Ivy was thrown away from the Alice of Obedience, landing on the rock-hard ground with a loud thump. A surprised gasp flew from Ivy's mouth when she landed, the breath knocked out of her from the force of the landing.

"Ivy!" Nightmare ran over to her and helped her up, his purple eye shining with concern. _I wish he would take off his eye patch again…_Ivy found herself dreamily thinking. All she wanted to do was return to her dreams and kiss Nightmare until both of them were senseless. Nightmare's cheeks flamed, and Ivy realized with a jolt that she wasn't protecting her thoughts. She rushed to raise the barriers around her mind once more but-on further consideration-left them down. Ivy had nothing to hide from Nightmare now that he knew the true extent of her feelings. Plus, mental communication would most likely prove to be more useful in this final steps of her mission. "Are you all right?" Nightmare asked, brushing off dirt from Ivy's pant leg.

She nodded. "Yeah. Just winded." Ivy stared up at Charlotte, who had not made any sort of move. She just gazed at Ivy and Nightmare with her eerily golden eyes, her face a mask devoid of all emotion. "She's not like the other Alices," Ivy muttered. "There's something…missing from her almost."

"Like a will of her own?" Nightmare suggested. "Those other girls might have been following Creed's demands, but they still were more lively than this. Charlotte just seems…"

"Empty." Ivy finished for the silver-haired incubus. Nightmare nodded in agreement.

"I am going to kill you three now," Charlotte suddenly said after being silent for so long. She reached into her maid dress and pulled out a small handgun. She pointed it at Gray, who was also scrambling to get his gun. He froze when the gun's nose was staring at him. "Nobody make any movement's. The Lizard is to die first. He is your strongest member."

_Damn…if only my imagination would work! _Ivy gritted her teeth in anger. _We're all in danger right now, so why isn't it showing up to do something? _"Charlotte!" Ivy barked as the blonde girl fingered the trigger almost like it was a nervous habit. "Please, don't shoot Gray. He's not the biggest threat, _I _am!"

Charlotte's gaze swept from Gray to Ivy, who had managed to get up without Nightmare's help. Her body still hurt from the fall she had taken when Charlotte had thrown her. "Whatever do you mean?" Charlotte asked in that unsettling doll-like voice of hers. "I was told Gray Ringmarc was to be taken down first, then Nightmare Gottschalk, and finally Ivy Cainz. What you say goes against my information."

"Well, maybe that was before, but now I'm really powerful. I guess your pal Morte didn't tell you that I could have killed her if I'd wanted to when she ambushed us in the snowfields," Ivy tried as hard as she could to bring haughtiness and a stubborn tone into her voice.

"Morte did not."

Nightmare and Gray seemed to pick up on what Ivy was trying to do: confuse the hell out of Charlotte. The Alice of Obedience's mind seemed to work exactly like a computer's would, using only commands and information to do what she needed. Charlotte did not seem to have a will of her own. "Ivy really is stronger than us," Gray nodded. "She can defeat me when we spar."

"And she beats me up everyday! With chains and whips and-" Nightmare broke off when Ivy glared at him with a beet red face. "Never mind."

Charlotte's robot-like expression turned to one of confusion. "I do not understand. My information was obsolete. Why do you say such things that go against what I was told?"

"Because Creed has LIED to you. Whatever he's promised you, you're not going to get." Ivy said gently. She took the risk to walk slowly towards Charlotte, who didn't make any movements to attack. "So please…help us find him, and we'll set you free. I promise."

Charlotte suddenly fell to the ground and clutched at her head, shrieking in a piercing scream. Ivy winced and covered her ears, as did Gray and Nightmare. They hadn't forgotten Aria, the Alice of Insanity, and her ability to twist your reasoning with the sound waves of her voice. "NO! YOU'RE LYING! Master Creed will save us all! You're the ones in the way of it!" Charlotte screamed. Her voice echoed throughout the hot spring cavern. "You're bad people…Master Creed is a good person…you're bad people…Master Creed is a good person…" She repeated those sentences like a mantra, rocking back and force while holding her head. Charlotte's eyes were wide with many different emotions, and her mouth was open widely as she chanted.

"Charlotte?" Ivy placed her hand on the girl's shoulder tentatively.

Right away Charlotte snapped up and stared at Ivy with her golden-hued eyes. They weren't empty like they had been before. They were…crueler now. More aware of everything that was going on. Charlotte gripped Ivy's arm that was attached to the hand she kept on her shoulder and squeezed tightly. Ivy yelped in pain as the bone snapped, and Charlotte leg go. Ivy's right arm-the one Charlotte had gripped-hung limply at Ivy's side, the limb twisted at an unnatural angle. A small triangle of white was pushed up from under the skin at Ivy's elbow, and blood was starting to form in droplets around it. The black-haired girl stared in horror at her broken arm, tears welling up in her greenish-blue eyes as the pain rushed to her head.

Nightmare yelled an obscenity at Charlotte and made a move to rush forward, but Gray grabbed his arms and held him back. "Lord Nightmare, I know you want to help Ivy, but you may end up getting her further injured," Gray said in a quivering voice. He was staring at the silently crying Ivy in shock.

"Ahahaha! YOU'RE the strongest one?" Charlotte cackled. Her monotone was replaced with a harsh and vindictive tone. "Just one little squeeze and your little arm broke!"

"Because I…don't want to…hurt you. Not if I…can save you first." Ivy managed to say through gritted teeth. Her right arm throbbed and pulsed with waves of intense pain, and she resisted the urge to fall to the ground in a heap and start sobbing hysterically. Instead, she just let the tears fall silently down her cheeks. "Please, Charlotte…see reason."

"Reason?" Charlotte's eyes narrowed. "You dare speak to me of reason? I'm the Alice of Obedience. My reason is for my master Creed, and him alone. But if you insist on behaving like civilized school girls merely fighting over a boy…" Charlotte snapped her fingers and suddenly split into to Charlottes: the one of the right had her hair tied on the right side of her head; likewise, the one on the left had hers styled at her left. The right one had the more cruel look of the Charlotte that had just spoke, whereas the left one wore the expression of the more robotic one whom the group had first met. Both looked exactly identical other than that.

"What the hell…?" Ivy grunted as she increased the pressure of how hard she held her broken arm. It made the limb go numb for a few blissful moments before another tidal wave of pain crashed into her and made Ivy sway where she stood. _Imagination, if you had any mercy in you right now, you would pop out and help us out of this situation!_

"I am Char." The left Charlotte spoke in her familiar monotone.

"And I'm Lotti, bitch." The right Charlotte sneered.

Both spoke at the same time then: "And now we're going to kill you, and then your man slaves." They looked at Gray and Nightmare with piercing stares. "And if you move, your deaths will be slow and painful."

If Ivy hadn't been in such pain, she would have laughed at the "man slaves" comment. The pain was making her delirious. She remembered last night when she had called herself "Ivy the Pimp" after the image of her surrounded by the willing men of Wonderland, a cruel parody of what the world was meant for. It was just too ironic. "So you're twins? Dee and Dum would LOVE you," Ivy spat out.

"Twins? No." Char blinked slowly.

"Oh great, you're a schizophrenic who literally has two personalities."

"Wrong again," Lotti san in a smug tone. "Char and I have always been the same person. Our master simply…split up the two extremes we could become and made Charlotte's better personality into me, Lotti; Charlotte's weaker, more pathetic attitude is Char."

"That's freakish." Ivy muttered. She was gripped her broken arm so hard that her knuckles clenching the injured limb were white. In her head, Ivy kept invoking her imagination. _Please help…make this pain go away or something!_

Nightmare looked at Ivy sharply. He opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it and instead switched to mental communication. **Ivy, can you hold on?**

_Of course. I'm perfectly fine._

**If you feel like you need me and Gray to leap in, just say the word.** Nightmare reminded her. He sent a feeling of reassurance into her mind, and Ivy just wanted to melt against the surprisingly strong arms of his. It wasn't fair that as soon as her first love kissed her, some crazy murdering girl showed up and ruined everything. Ivy moved forward ever-so-slightly so that she could get a better angle of Char and Lotti.

"You know what, I have an idea." Lotti said thoughtfully. "If you can beat us in battle, Char and I will lead you to Master Creed."

"And we will act as if we tried to stop you the whole way." Char added. "Is that good enough for you, Outsider?"

Ivy nodded grimly. "Bring it on, you schizo freaks." _Dammit, imagination! WORK!_

The two girls that were also the same entity known as the Alice of Obedience both summoned two pistols each into their hands out of thin air. They moved forward a few steps and raised the firearms at Ivy, who was still furiously trying to invoke her imagination. When Nightmare took one step, Lotti instantly switched her aim to the dream demon. "Didn't we say not to move, incubus?" She growled.

Nightmare flinched as the dark, ominous hole of the gun barrel stared at him. "You're fighting an unfair fight! Ivy can't do this with her injury!"

"She has agreed to our proposition. Therefore, she will and she must." Char said quietly. Her empty eyes flickered just for a moment with something that Ivy wanted to say was pity, but she wasn't sure if it was just the pain getting to her head.

"Dammit…" Nightmare clenched his fist. "Dammit! Ivy, I'm sorry I can't do anything!"

"Ivy! Please, try your hardest to harbor your powers and use them. I believe in you. Nightmare believes in you. Just believe in yourself." Gray stared at Ivy with his steely, unwavering gaze. "That's how imagination works, doesn't it? Believing in the fact that you can do the impossible."

"Gray…" Ivy wet her lips and focused her attention inside her mind. _Gray's right. I just have to believe I can do this. Believe…Believe and concentrate. It's like when you're writing; you use your imagination to come up with the characters and plot. You concentrate on getting the story done, one paragraph at a time. So this…_Ivy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, cleansing her mind of all doubts she had about winning the battle with Char and Lotti.

…_should be a piece of cake. _Ivy opened her eyes again and shouted a single word as she squeezed her injured arm the hardest she had since it broke: "HEAL!"

In a flash of silvery light, Ivy's arm began to glow from within. The bone fragment that had been sticking out slowly pushed itself back in, and her limb began to twist itself back to its original state. The pain was disappearing, along with the blood welling at the tip of the wound. Ivy smiled widely as her arm stopped to glow, her injury now healed. "That's more like it," Ivy nodded in satisfaction and clenched her fist a few times to make sure everything was working properly. Content that she was fine now, Ivy gave her imagination a mental command and a long katana-like sword materialized in her outstretched hands. It had a black blade and a golden hilt, a violet iris carved and twisting around the entire weapon. Ivy held out the sword at Char and Lotti, who were staring at her in astonished disbelief. "So, ready to fight now?" Ivy asked in a conversational voice, as if she was merely inquiring about the weather for the day.

Nightmare did a fist pump in the air and whooped with joy. "HELL YES! That's my girl, Ivy! You look freaking hot with a sword!"

Gray gave his boss an befuddled look but also voiced in his pride. "That was very well done, Ivy."

"Thanks," Ivy grinned. She didn't even blush at Nightmare's comment, she was so intent on showing the two enraged girls in front of her just what she could do. "You gonna answer me or what?" Ivy taunted, waggling a finger in the air in the universal "Come hither, bitch" motion.

Lotti's face twisted with rage, and Char's expression turned angry. The two suddenly leapt at Ivy, shooting their pistols at a rapid pace that should have been impossible if Ivy was still in her world. But, this was Wonderland: the place where the impossible became the possible. With a burst of speed that her imagination pushed onto her, Ivy ran in a zigzag as she dodged the bullets coming at her in rapid succession. One nicked her feet, but just barely. Deciding that it would be best to not show off her "mad ninja skills," as she had wanted to, Ivy created a protective barrier around herself like she had when Morte was going to kill her with the icicle. Ivy stopped in her tracks and laughed as the ammunition bounced harmlessly off the silvery shield she had conjured. The blasts from when the guns fired echoed deafeningly, making her ears ring.

"Damn you!" Lotti roared in frustration. "How the hell did you get so…good?"

"I guess you ARE a powerful one." Char said, somewhat irritably. "This is a most surprising development. Master Creed will not be pleased."

"Sorry girlies, but I've got a goal. And when I do, I never stop going for it." Ivy clucked her tongue in a reprimanding manner. "I'm going to take Creed down and make him pay for screwing with your lives. I'm going to make sure Alice can finish her Game. And then I'm going to go home and enjoy a hot fudge sundae. So you see…" Ivy suddenly disengaged her force field and jumped into the air, doing a flip and landing gracefully between Char and Lotti. The two girls raised their arms and used their guns to deflect the slashes Ivy was making with her sword. Clangs of metal upon metal rang out in a deadly symphony. Using a burst of adrenaline her imagination pumped through her, Ivy knocked away the guns from Char and Lotti with speed impossible under normal circumstances and smirked when they gaped at her in astonishment. Ivy calmly placed her hands up as if in a gesture of peace. Before either could react, she knocked their heads together and stepped back as they spun around, their eyes swirling dizzily. "I kind of want to get this done pretty soon. Hope you understand." Ivy silently thanked her imagination for cooperating and making her look like a total badass in front of Nightmare and Gray. She was really going to enjoy beating the shit out of Creed with her newfound abilities.

The guns disappeared from Char and Lotti's hands and the two crashed into each other, melding into the original Charlotte the three had first met. The Alice of Obedience looked dazed and confused, but then shook her head and her face cleared. "…humph. I guess you really can use your imagination like those in the older days of Wonderland." It was Lotti who spoke, but Char's robotic tone lay just under the sentence. "A deal's a deal. I'll show you the way to our master."

"Damn straight," Ivy grinned mischievously and gave Nightmare and Gray a thumbs up. "Come on guys, time to go kick some egotistical asshole's ass~!"

Charlotte muttered something under her breath and started to make her way out of the hot spring cavern. Looking behind her shoulder at the three people behind her, Charlotte snapped, "Well, come on! Don't rub this in any more than you already are. Let's just get on with it." It sounded as if the personalities of both Char and Lotti had merged together, making the Charlotte much more bearable than before.

Nightmare and Gray followed Ivy, flanking either side of her closely. Nightmare grabbed her hand and held it tightly. **Have I ever told you that you look damn sexy when you beat other chicks up?** Nightmare smirked at Ivy flirtatiously, his unconcealed eye glittering in amusement.

_You pervert,_ Ivy lightly smacked his arm but grinned. _But no, you haven't. You've only told me that I look hot with a sword._

"I would appreciate it if you two would refrain from mental dialogue in my presence," Gray said loudly.

"You and Nightmare did it all the time, so why can't I?" Ivy shot back playfully.

Gray didn't say anything similar to his earlier complaint after that.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

The smoky heat was like a cannon shot when Ivy and the others stepped outside. After getting used to the hot spring cavern's natural air ventilation, it was no surprise that within in two minutes of trudging after the

begrudged Charlotte in the scorching heat that Ivy and Nightmare were drenched with sweat and slowly losing their pace. Gray was sweating also, but not as badly. He had more stamina than his two companions. At one point, Nightmare even almost coughed up blood because he was dehydrated already; Ivy used her abilities to manifest a chunk of ice to suck on, as well as a large canister of freezing cold water. She did the same for Gray and Charlotte (the Alice of Obedience looked baffled when Ivy handed her the container, but snatched it without commenting) and for herself. "You should use your imagination to turn the heat down, Ivy," Nightmare joked after about twenty minutes of walking past volcano after volcano. The further they traveled into the volcanic plains, it seemed, the hotter it got.

"I don't that would work, Nightmare," Ivy replied. Curious, however, Ivy stared at a small stream of lava that was winding past them. The red liquid oozed and bubbled menacingly. _Freeze over,_ Ivy commanded silently. Nothing happened: it appeared Ivy's assumptions were right.

"How much longer until we reach Creed?" Gray asked Charlotte. She was still walking with a very brisk pace, the heat obviously not affecting her in the slightest.

"See that volcano over there?" Charlotte pointed ahead of her, where about a mile away the largest mountain towered above all other objects. Steam was rising from the top, and Ivy could make out lines of multihued red stuff running down the side. "The entrance to my master's lair is in there."

"Why is it so damn far?" Nightmare grumbled. He pushed back a bit of his silver bangs, which were hanging in front of his vision and saturated with perspiration. "The least Creed could do would to make his hideout in a nice, pretty meadow where birds sang and children laughed. And make it right next to the Tower of Clover so I wouldn't have to leave very far from home."

"I highly doubt Creed is the type of guy to be frolicking in meadows with little kids. …unless he was a pedophile and he had another agenda." Ivy smirked dryly.

"Besides Lord Nightmare, why would the enemy have his haunt right next to where we lived? We're the ones trying to stop him; it would be a stupid choice." Gray added.

"I was just trying to voice my opinion! I'm hot, wet, tired, and I just want to sleep. This sucks. It sucks major donkey balls. I wanna go home. I want to run around in my dream realm and be the happy, carefree, amazing dream demon I am." Nightmare resembled a sulking child, kicking stones as he walked with his arms crossed stubbornly.

"Nightmare, when all this is over, I promise that I'll wait on you hand and foot for a couple time periods before I go home." Ivy vowed. With a bold and coy grin, she added, "And you can command me to do whatever you want."

"I have a feeling I've completely missed a whole scene." Gray blinked in confusion as his boss and Ivy exchanged flirtatious dialogue.

Charlotte looked back and shook her head, muttering something about "Stupid lovers."

Time seemed to pass quickly and the group of four were already at the foot of the volcano. It belched smoke and ash, and the most powerful rotten egg smell emanated from the top. No lava spewed out constantly; the reddish lines Ivy had seen were cracks in the volcano's rocky side that showed the magma brewing inside. Charlotte led them over to a set of crudely made stone stairs. "Just a little farther now."

"Wait…is Creed in the volcano?" Ivy stared at the mountainous formation in front of her. "I thought you just meant it was around here!"

All that Charlotte did was begin to walk up the steps and answer in a secretive manner, "You'll see."

Ivy, Nightmare, and Gray had no other choice but to follow her.

"What if this is a trap?" Gray asked quietly. He was looking at Charlotte's back with a suspicious glare.

"It's not," Ivy reassured him. "I trust Charlotte.""Even after she broke your arm, threatened to shoot me and Gray if we tried to help you, and then shot at you?" Nightmare pointed out sardonically, raising his eyebrows.

"To tell you the truth, yeah." Ivy nodded. "I think she's just…she has no other purpose but to obey Creed. Yet, it feels like Charlotte just wants to have a will of her own deep down. She's already shown it by agreeing to lead us here. Isn't that a start?"

"I guess so," Nightmare and Gray answered.

"We are here." Charlotte's voice interrupted their conversation. It sounded more like Char than Lotti, but there was still a slight undertone of Lotti's callous manner of speaking. The girl's blonde hair was frizzing in the heat, and her yellow maid uniform was brushed with fine grey ash.

"We are?" Ivy scrunched up her nose in confusion. "But…that's the inside of the freaking volcano."

"Exactly." Charlotte was pointing to the red and orange swirling mass inside the volcano, which bubbled and spewed forth a brimstone-like stench. The heat was almost unbearable, brushing over everyone in waves of torture and causing sweat to relentlessly ooze from their pores. Ivy was surprised her eyebrows didn't burn off. Nightmare and Gray were also staring in disbelief at the magma, wearing identical expressions of "WTF?" Charlotte laughed once, a bitter and amused chuckle. "You guys look stupid with your mouths hanging open like that."

"Because you're telling us Creed lives in LAVA!" Ivy exploded. "You tricked us! I trusted you, and you pulled this little stunt!" Her eyes flamed with rage.

"I didn't deceive you. Jump in."

"…you're fucking kidding me, right?"

Charlotte shook her head at Ivy's inquiry. "No. Just jump into the lava, and you'll see what I was talking about. Master Creed's hideout is hidden within it."

"But that's impossible!" Nightmare sputtered in incredulity. "Sure, this might be Wonderland, but living in LAVA? Not even that can happen!"

"You'd better explain yourself before we-" Gray didn't have time to finish his threat. Charlotte suddenly rushed forward and pushed both him and Nightmare into the boiling magma below. The Lizard and Caterpillar both yelled in hopeless outrage as they landed into the red-hot material below them, disappearing within a sea of scarlet and ginger shades. Ivy didn't even scream as she watched in horror when Nightmare and Gray met their deaths; her body had instantly gone numb.

"You're next," Charlotte turned to Ivy and moved towards her with outstretched arms.

"N-no…how could you…Why?" Ivy squeaked. Her eyes were too dry for her to break out into heaving sobs. _Nightmare's gone…Gray's gone too…They're both dead! NO! This can't be happening! _"I should have killed you when I had the chance," Ivy snarled wrathfully. She tried to summon the katana she had before, but nothing happened. Overwhelming grief and rage were blocking her abilities.

"Ugh…you're hopeless." Charlotte smacked her forehead. "It's a wonder that you guys even made it this far." The Alice of Obedience placed her hands on Ivy's shoulders and for a moment, her golden eyes flickered with hope. In a quiet murmur, she whispered, "If you really are right about Master Creed being evil…I think I wouldn't mind if you were the one to save me and the others."

With that, Charlotte gave Ivy a small push and the black-haired girl fell backwards into the mouth of the volcano.

Time seemed to slow down. Ivy's surroundings blurred; the red disappeared and became black. The closer she got to the magma below her, the cooler the air around her became. The scream that was lodged in her throat never got its chance to let itself be heard before Ivy finally crashed into the lava headfirst. The last thing Ivy remembered before she sank into the substance surrounding her-which was freezing cold for some reason; Ivy just chalked that up to her senses disappearing right away to make her death easier-was: _Well…at least we never had to fight any jabberwocky._

And then everything around her vanished.

**I contemplated not leaving an author note at the end. It would have seemed more suspenseful. ^_^ Are Ivy, Nightmare, and Gray dead? Did Charlotte betray them? Will Nightmare and Ivy get another make out session? Well, of course not to the first question. Then I would have no more story to write! Please review because it makes me love you guys. Off to sleep now~**


	15. The Truth Hurts In Many Ways

**Thank you so very much for over 80 reviews! It makes me happy :D This chapter will be written in a different type of format in a way, because, well…you'll see. Now I'll keep this author note short so I can continue from my heart-wrenching cliffhanger. (Sorry I just REALLY enjoy writing cliffies)**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Something soft and cool was pressed to Ivy's cheek. She felt like she was splayed out on the ground. Her mind reeled, her body was sore…Ivy couldn't even open her eyes for some reason. They felt as if they were stuck together. Ivy tried to raise her head, and the only product she got was a shock of pain throughout her entire body and a suppressed groan flying through her throat. _What the hell happened? _Ivy thought to herself as she lay in darkness. _I remember Charlotte pushing Nightmare and Gray into the volcano…and then she pushed me…So I'm dead now? Then why am I so sore?_ Ivy experimented to see if she could at least move a little without any pain. She twitched her right hand, the her left. Nothing. She slowly brought both hands up to her face and pried her eyes open. Ivy felt so tired, all she wanted to do was sleep. But she resisted the urge and finally opened her eyes and was met with a surprising site.

Ivy was on her side in the middle of a grassy field. There was dew still clinging to individual grass that was shooting up around her, and the sun was shining pleasantly. Ivy was completely alone, or at least from her angle. "This looks like my dream world," Ivy said out loud. Her voice sounded thunderous in the silent field where she lay. "Only there's no flowers. Or Nightmare."

Ivy had half-hoped that Nightmare would show up as soon as she said that.

But he didn't, and Ivy remained alone.

Ivy managed to push herself up off the ground and wipe herself off. There was no sign of being burned by the lava Charlotte had thrown her into; her clothes were still wrinkly but unharmed. Just what the hell was going on? Ivy stumbled forward and almost fell down. Her whole body felt like it just wanted to lie back down and rest. _Dammit, we are gonna find out what's going on. This is no time to sleep!_ Ivy snapped at her body that wasn't cooperating. She took a few more steps and found that she could move without anymore pain or feelings on complete exhaustion. Thus, Ivy began her march towards the rolling hills in front of her, in high hopes of finding out just what in God's name was going on.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

Ivy had no idea how long she had been walking. All she knew was that it was a very long time, and she had managed to get to the entrance of a forest. It held a dark and foreboding feeling from it, as if something horrible was waiting for Ivy in its heart. Ivy gulped and harnessed the comforting feeling of her imagination. It cloaked around her like a force field, but it wasn't exactly the shield Ivy had created before. It was more of a shimmering in the air that stuck to every curve of her body instead of being a boisterous dome. Ivy looked at her hands and saw that they had an odd silver sheen to them. "Cool…" Ivy grinned. "I guess my imagination evolves? Oh my God, I'm like a Pokemon!" For a brief few seconds, Ivy waited for Nightmare or Gray to ask her what a Pokemon was. When no inquiry came, she gave a dejected sigh and hung her head. "Oh, right. I forgot…they're missing. Where are you guys?" Ivy raised her voice a little, listening as it echoed throughout the confines of the forest. Suddenly, wings flapped and a few black birds took to the skies from a tree next to her, cawing indignantly. Ivy yelped and tripped over her own feet, falling in front of a tree and groaning at her own stupidity. "It was just some birds, you idiot…" She muttered. "Nothing to spaz over about."

A sudden strong breeze whipped through the trees, causing their branches to whine and their leaves to fall off. Ivy's hair flew around her like an ebony cape, the strands tickling her nose. "I need a hair tie," She said to herself as she grabbed her hair in one fist to keep it from blowing everywhere. Ivy began to walk once more, trying her best to ignore the creepy sounds that came from the shadows of the trees. At one point Ivy was sure she had heard a scream right behind her, but when she spun around there was nothing there but trees. "Wait…" She stopped in her tracks and looked around. It seemed almost as if the trees had moved in closer around her. "There was somewhat of a clear path out to that meadow place before. Now it's only trees. What the hell?" Ivy scanned the area for anything suspicious and almost fell down when she noticed movement to her side. A tree was creeping forward, its roots pulling itself along through the dirt. Ivy's eyes widened and she stumbled back, only to run into the trunk of a tree that hadn't been there before. Before Ivy could react, vines dropped from it's branches and wrapped around her wrists and ankles, hoisting her up into the air and causing Ivy to dangle helplessly about fifteen feet above the ground.

Ivy screamed and began to list off all the profane names she could think of. The tree shook, almost as if it were laughing at her. "Someone tell me what the hell is going on!" Ivy screeched loudly. There was no answer. Ivy stared down at the ground that was far below her and gulped. Then she remembered she had her imagination on her side, and she dove into her mind to bring forth its power. On her mental command, knives suddenly appeared out of nowhere and hacked the vines away from Ivy's limbs. Soon the only thing that was keeping her suspended was a single vine, this one wrapping itself tightly around her waist. Ivy's air was cut off for a few terrifying moments before the floating knives went to work on the last vine. Just before it, too, was cut away, Ivy realized she was dangling from quite a height. Racking her brain for a way to prevent herself from being hurt, Ivy got an idea as the last vine fell away. The silver shimmering around her body moved to her back and morphed into two silver wings, feathers a gossamer grey that reminded Ivy of Nightmare's hair. As Ivy plummeted back to the ground, she flapped her newly-formed wings furiously and grinned when she managed to stay suspended in the air.

"Holy crap, I didn't know my imagination could do THAT," Ivy twisted her head back to look at the two appendages that had just appeared on her back. They were about as large as what Ivy suspected an angel's wings would be. Well, if angels really did exist. Ivy did a few more experimental flaps, then floated softly back to the ground. The trees started to move in again, this time more quickly. They all had vines dropping from their branches that were twisting wildly like snakes towards her. "You wanna play?" Ivy snarled as a vine closest to her snapped out and whipped her leg, leaving a red wilt. Ivy concentrated her imagination and summoned the katana-like sword she had when she was fighting Char and Lotti. "I hope so, because I've always wanted to cut my way through a jungle with a knife of some kind like Indiana Jones." Ivy hopped up and flew through the air as a plethora of vines came rushing at her. Her silver wings beat together fluidly as she twisting through the green whips, slashing at them with her sword. The tree vines fell to the ground as soon as they made contact with Ivy's sword, no longer deadly vegetation.

"What now?" Ivy taunted the trees, completely enjoying herself. "Too bad I don't have some weed killer!" Ivy laughed and somersaulted to evade a branch that swiped itself at her. Looking up, Ivy realized there was a small opening through the tree tops that had appeared when they had moved in towards her. "I wish I could stay and chat, but I have some urgent matters to attend to. Tally ho, chaps!" Ivy waggled her fingers in a coy wave and flew up at the gap, a single blue piece amongst the dark green shadows. The trees' limbs groaned as they stretched for the miraculously flying girl, their vines straining to reach Ivy as she flew higher and higher from their reach. Breaking through the treetops, Ivy flew higher and higher until she could see for miles around her. The forest she had just exited was far beneath her, and it was surrounded by grassy plains. Ivy could feel the wind caressing her cheeks, her hair whipping wildly around her once more.

"I could really get used to this feeling," Ivy mused to herself, spinning around and doing a pirouette in mid air. "Flying…is awesome!" She looked down to see if there was anything else other than just the creepy forest of killer trees. There was a tiny black dot on the horizon, and Ivy trusted her instincts to begin flying towards it. The closer she got, the darker the sky was becoming. It was almost as if the time periods were…normal. "But that's not how Wonderland usually works," Ivy murmured to herself. With each wing flap, she was slowly realizing how tired she was getting. Soon Ivy would have to land and get some sleep. "Just what the hell is going on?" She was sick of having to repeat the question to herself over and over. The sky was a deep orange, with pink and red hues swirling throughout the clouds.

The sun was going down more quickly than it did in Ivy's world, but it was still not the way that Wonderland's time worked. Ivy's eyes could finally make out details on that black dot, which was becoming more like a black blob now that she was closer. It looked almost like a medieval castle, dark as night with turrets spiraling all around it. Ivy blinked and shielded her eyes as she veered in direct position of the sun. Despite its going down, it was still blinding. "Could that be where Creed is?" Ivy scanned the earth beneath her. It was dotted with a tree here and there, and there was an odd rock formation that resembled a mountain with a hole in the middle. In the cavity was a deep blue body of water that shone from the sun's drying light. "Weird place," Ivy muttered as she flew towards the castle. "But not as weird as some other places I've been to."

She flew on, determined to make it to the mysterious castle before night completely fell over the strange area of Wonderland she had stumbled into.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

_Nightmare felt drained. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know where Gray was. He didn't know where Ivy was._

"_Ivy…" Her name was like a gunshot on his lips. It hurt to even speak._

_Where was she? Was she safe? Was she hurt? Was she dead?_

_Nightmare didn't know._

_All he knew was that the pain was enveloping him once more in its dark clutches, and__he felt himself losing his hold on reality once more. Nightmare, dream demon of Wonderland, drifted off into a dream realm of his own, one where he and Ivy could smile at each other peacefully with no interruption from the outside world._

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

Ivy landed in front of the castle with a soft thump as her feet made contact with the grass. The sun had disappeared and had brought the moon and night with its absence. Stars twinkled overhead, illuminating the odd black stone that the castle was created out of. It almost seemed like the material glowed with an unearthly shine from within. Ivy swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped forward a bit. She kept the silver-feathered wings on her back just in case she needed a quick getaway. There was a large archway with two unlit torches on either side. As soon as Ivy walked through the archway, the torches lit.

"This place is creepy." Ivy shuddered and walked all the way up to the large wooden door. There was a metal ring where on a regular door a doorknob would be. Ivy placed her fingers around the cold steel and gave it a rough tug.

The door swung open with an ominous creak to reveal a lavishly furnished large room with a spotless marble and matching marble pillars. A large stair case carpeted in a rich red velvet broke off into two directions. Torches hung lit at every corner, but not ever their flickering light could expose what lay hidden beneath the shadows in the far corridors. Ivy took a tentative step forward into the castle and flinched when she heard another loud creak as the door swung shut behind her. "Great. Now this is like every other horror movie, where the stupid protagonist gets locked into a psychopath's secret lair and he rapes her until she dies." Ivy muttered to herself, not making any movements just in case someone or something lay in wait to ambush her from the shadows.

Ivy waited a minute or so. Nothing happened. Sighing, Ivy stepped forward and made her way to the ornate staircase. "This looks kind of like the Phantomhive mansion from Kuroshitsuji," Ivy joked, stroking the cold wood that was the banister. "If a hot demon butler pops up surrounded by cats, I'll be very happy. Maybe Sebastian will be able to tell me if Creed lives here…" Ivy trailed off when she realized that the air had suddenly gained an aura of malevolence. She thought it was her mind playing tricks on her, but with a start she realized the light had also seemed to darken, and then all was completely black.

Ivy stood on the staircase, paralyzed with uncertainty and fear.

A lighthearted chuckle reverberated throughout the room. It echoed off the polished walls and floor, wrapping itself around Ivy's heart and squeezing it so she felt as if she would suffocate with terror. Ivy wanted to scream, to demand who was laughing, but her throat would just not work. And then, just as suddenly as they had faded, the torches lit themselves, burning more brightly than before.

And standing in front of Ivy were the four Alices she had met throughout her trek across Wonderland to find Alice Liddell.

Rose smirked up at Ivy with her full red lips, her flaming hair falling in a bloody sheen around her. She wore a scarlet dress that looked so very sexy on the Alice of Temptation's seductive form. Her odd demonic wings flitted behind her, and the red rose tattoo gracing Rose's hand mocked Ivy along with her crimson eyes from her place on the staircase. Aria smiled a cute grin that hid her inner insanity, her blue locks twisted in a bun. The dress she wore was identical to Rose, only it was a deep blue. The Alice of Insanity's sapphire eyes glittered mischievously and gave Ivy a fluttering wave. Morte's deep green eyes narrowed when she placed them upon Ivy, the Alice of War's emerald-shaded dress matching the others' in every way except for color. Her bright green hair was done in another high ponytail that showed her cruel beauty. Lastly, Charlotte shifted uncomfortably under Ivy's interrogating gaze, her blonde hair in pigtails with dark yellow ribbons braided through them. Her topaz-like eyes glistened with what Ivy could have sworn were tears, and the Alice of Obedience's golden dress made her look small and childlike.

Ivy couldn't believe her eyes. Here they were, all four former "Alice" players of the previous Games standing right in front of her. _Then I was right. Creed MUST live here. But where would he be?_ Ivy looked around wildly to see if she could spy the Alices' master, but there was no one else in the room with her. Ivy's grip on the railing tightened, and she was grateful for the pain that spiked through her hand when it dug into the wood a bit to roughly. The pain would keep Ivy alert…for now.

Finally, Rose spoke. Her voice was almost like hissing snakes to Ivy's ears. "Well, well, well. You've finally made it." Her sharp teeth glittered in the torchlight. "Where's your boyfriends?"

"I was going to ask you the same, slut." Ivy replied in a conversational tone, trying not to betray her worry.

Rose gave a short laugh. "You've grown ballsy." She turned to Aria. "Hasn't she?"

Aria nodded energetically. "Yeah, she has! I would have expected her to just yell at us. But look how well she's keeping her cool." Aria's grin widened almost psychotically. "I wonder how long it would take her to scream if we hurt her…"

"Hey! Master Creed said to greet the bitch, not harm her." Morte barked. She sounded annoyed. Morte glared at Ivy furiously. "Even though he knows how much I'd like to do that, especially after the humiliation she put me through in the snowfields…"

Now it was Charlotte's turn to taunt Ivy. The blonde girl looked at her "sisters" uncertainly, and then at Ivy. Finally, after a long minute of silence, Charlotte hung her head and spoke two short words: "I'm sorry." She didn't say anything else, just continued to look at her reflection in the refined floor.

Ivy was speechless at the last Alice's words. "I'm sorry"? What was Charlotte sorry, throwing Ivy and Nightmare and Gray into the volcano? She had obviously not lied when she had said that Creed's lair was beneath the lava…so why was Charlotte acting so remorseful?

Ivy had a bad feeling she was going to find out very soon.

"Where's Creed?" She demanded sharply. Her voice reverberated off the walls and bounced around like a basketball. It sounded loud and powerful. It made Ivy FEEL powerful. She unfolded her silver wings from her back and let them flare out a bit, making them slightly larger with her imagination. Ivy smirked when all four Alices gave surprised gasps that they obviously wanted to conceal. "Yeah, that's right, I have a very powerful imagination now. So if any one of you tries to fuck with me," Ivy glared coldly at the four girls on the floor. "I'll make sure to fight right back."

Rose crossed her arms. "Hmph! After all we did to make you feel welcome, you just throw it at our face and threaten us?" She peered at Ivy's wings and snickered a bit. "I almost feel special. You gave yourself wings, just like me!" Her black wings fluttered with amusement as Rose laughed.

"Come with us, Ivy. You must be hungry." Aria's voice slid around Ivy like honey. "Especially after all the traveling you've been doing lately." Ivy shook her head as the compulsion wrapped itself around her willpower. "No? You ARE a stubborn one."

"Come on, let's rough her up. Just a little bit, Master Creed doesn't have to know!" Morte slid her mocha-toned hand under her dress around her leg, and Ivy saw a glint of steel winking up at her. Ivy wasn't even surprised Morte had a knife tucked away on her. She probably had more.

"No!" Charlotte shook her head. Her voice became more monotone and robotic. "We must obey Master Creed's wish and make Ivy as comfortable as possible." The girl held her hand out to Ivy. "Come, Ivy. We will feed you, and then our master will speak to you."

"And how do I know you're not all lying?" Ivy snapped. She was ready to spring up into the air and fight as long as she needed to.

As long as she found Nightmare and Gray, Ivy would survive.

"It's a pity you aren't one of us," Rose sighed in mock sorrow. "You would certainly have become top dog of the Alices. I bet your title would be…the Alice of Childish Notions." She gave a tittering laugh and swept her hand in an exaggerated gesture. The staircase under Ivy vanished and was replaced by a chair, whereas everything else around her swirled into a mosaic of dizzying colors. When it all settled, Ivy was seated at a long table with many plates of food piled on its tablecloth, and the other girls were seated around her. The room was still as large as the staircase room had been, but there were tapestries on the stone walls and a fireplace warming up the air.

"Eat, we insist!" Aria cheerfully beamed as she brought a forkful of delicious-looking chocolate pie to her mouth. "You should get your strength back.""Where's Nightmare? And Gray? And Alice Liddell, too?" Ivy demanded. She did her best to ignore the mouth-watering aromas that were wafting up from the delicacies in front of her and the growling in her stomach. Ivy realized just how hungry she really was, but she refused to eat the food on her plate. _I bet it's poisoned or drugged._

"We'll tell you after dinner," Morte said, stuffing a big chunk of steak into her mouth. The satisfaction from eating it was painfully obvious by the swooning expression the green-haired girl wore.

"Tell me now."

"Ivy, please. Eat a little bit. You look ready to fall down from hunger." Charlotte insisted worriedly. Her voice had retained its "normalcy" by sounding like Char and Lotti merged together.

Ivy crossed her arms and refused to look at all the delectable cuisine plated out beautifully in front of her almost-watering mouth. The scents assaulted her nostrils, and Ivy did in fact feel faint with hunger. She just wanted to eat and sleep, and then she could find Nightmare, Gray, and Alice. Just a little food and rest and Ivy would be perfectly fine…

Ivy realized with a start that she was mere millimeters away from emptying a spoonful of aromatic brown soup into her drooling mouth. She flung the utensil away and stared at the four Alices murderously. "I said I don't want any food, dammit! Don't influence me with your freaky Alice powers to make me eat!"

"Hey, it was your own body that gave you away," Aria held up her hands innocently. Ivy knew that the Alice of Insanity was most likely the one who had used some type of compulsion on her mind. "Your brain was just not listening."

"Ivy dear, don't you know that you should always give your body exactly what it needs?" Rose licked her lips to get rip of some sauce. The Alice of Temptation winked in a profane manner and licked her lips once more.

"Like giving someone a good punch in the face?" Morte grinned in a violent manner. The Alice of War thrust her steak knife into the rest of her meat aggressively, letting the pink juices run down her plate and onto the tablecloth.

"Please, Ivy," Charlotte was almost begging Ivy in a pathetic tone. "Please eat something. You're going to need it." The Alice of Obedience's eyes were alight with conflicting emotions, making their golden hues swirl.

Ivy's head was screaming at her not to listen to the four girls sitting around her. But Ivy's body was just too hungry, too tired to listen. She reached for a thick piece of bread that was slathered with garlic butter and brought it up to her mouth. Her tongue dripped saliva as the bread touched her lips. Ivy couldn't control herself and she bit into the slice of bread and tore at it vivaciously, moaning in pleasure as butter slid down her throat. Ivy finished the bread in less than five seconds, and she licked at the butter dripping down her fingers. She reached for another piece of bread but instead found herself picking up a creampuff oozing with yellow pudding. Ivy's eyes glazed over as she stuffed the pastry into her mouth, relishing the sweet taste. She swallowed and licked her lips. Ivy wanted to get another pastry but her mind was starting to clear now that she had eaten something. She shook her head and stared down at her now empty plate. _What the hell? Now I feel…better. Were they right? …Ugh, I'm so confused…_

"Hello, my pets. I see our guest has gotten some sustenance."

Ivy's entire body froze up as the soft male voice suddenly came from the doorway behind her. She heard footsteps approaching her chair and closed her eyes as hands clapped her on the shoulder. "Ivy Cainz, I presume? You should eat a little more. I do not intend to fight you while you are at your weakest. Ideally, I would rather not fight you under any circumstances, but it appears fate has decided to throw us together."

Ivy slowly turned her head to see who was speaking, although she already knew who it was. Ivy's eyes met ones of pure silver, a gleam of cruelty lurking just beneath their façade of good humor. The face framing those mysterious eyes was handsome and young, a pale tint etched into the skin. He had shockingly white hair that was tied back in a long ponytail, and he wore a black cloak that dragged along the floor. Creed smiled to show dazzlingly bright teeth and bowed his head forward slightly. "Greetings, Miss Cainz. It's a pleasure to meet you in person at last. I am Creed, creator of these fine young women sitting here before you. And also…" Creed's smile became a bit more savage, more cunning. "…the future king of Wonderland and all other worlds."

Ivy jumped out of her seat and pushed the master of the Alices away form her. Her silvery wings fluttered in distress. "You're a madman is what you are!" Ivy snapped angrily. "You've taken these poor girls' lives from them and turned them into…into…monsters! You've kidnapped Alice Liddell and are about to do the same with her! You've dragged my ass halfway across Wonderland to find you, and probably have Nightmare and Gray hidden here somewhere," Ivy narrowed her eyes and forced herself to remain calm. "You can flaunt your little 'creations' around all you want, but I'm still stopping you. Now, I'll ask this again: where the fuck are my friends?" Ivy gripped Creed's cloak with her fist, shoving her face in his. "And you'd better tell me FAST, or else this sword will be between your ribs faster than you can say jabberwocky." Ivy summoned her katana in her free hand and held it against Creed's chest menacingly.

"Master Creed!" Rose, Aria, Morte, and Charlotte had all gotten out of their seats and looked as if they were going to lunge at Ivy. "Get away from him, you bitch!" Morte snarled, giving Ivy the finger.

"Girls, it's perfectly all right." Creed smiled reassuringly at them. "Why don't you four go fetch our other guests? They must be absolutely DYING to see Ivy." He nodded encouragingly at them, and the four Alices stomped off looking pissed and worried.

"Guests?" Ivy dug the tip of her katana into Creed's thick cloak slightly. "Who else is here? And you still haven't answered my question, Whitey!"

"Whitey? Honestly, that's the best comeback you have?" Creed threw his head back and laughed raucously. "You amuse me, Ivy Cainz. I shall take great pleasure in extracting your soul and merging it with my precious Alices'." He closed his eyes and Ivy was suddenly thrown back from him, slamming against the banquet table and knocking her head against the wood. Ivy stared up at Creed in shock as a golden hue shimmered about him, and her own silvery veil suddenly disappeared. Ivy's katana and wings vanished, and she felt drained and lonely. Seeing her shock, Creed laughed again. This time it was a cruel and sadistic chuckle, one that made Ivy's insides roil. "Confused, girl?" Creed asked in an oily tone. "Come now, did you really think I'd let you play cards without me having a loaded deck?"

"What the hell was that?" Ivy demanded, getting to her feet. The back of her head throbbed where it had made contact with the hard wood, and she fought the tears that threatened to spill over from the pain.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" Creed asked softly. He grabbed Ivy's collar and smiled ruthlessly when she squirmed for release. "Ask me." He whispered against Ivy's ear. She recoiled as his tongue licked the very top of it. "Ask me who I am."Ivy was so tired. She didn't want to play a game as twisted as this bastard's. "Who are you?" She asked quietly.

"I am imagination itself." Creed dropped her and spread his arms out. "Imagination is what created this wonderful wonder world, and I am the living vessel of it! I've been alive ever since Wonderland first came into being. I oversaw the first Game. I've overseen THIS Game. And, I must admit, this one has been the most entertaining one yet." His tongue slithered out and licked his thing lips.

Ivy stared at Creed in shock. "You're…imagination?"

"Of course! I allowed the residents of the ancient Wonderland to use their imagination as they wished, but soon they began getting too powerful, too controlling. I did what any sensible higher being would do, and cut off their imaginations' abilities when I felt people where beginning to realize what it could do." Creed chuckled as if remembering a fond memory. "If one gains enough influence over their imagination, one can control Wonderland. And the other worlds surrounding it. I couldn't let that happen, not before I rule everything in my path first."

"Then explain to me why I could use my imagination!" Ivy demanded heatedly. "If you cut it off from Wonderland's people, why could I use it when I got here?"

"Because you are originally from the other side, my dear." Creed said patiently. "Only when you became comfortable enough in your routine here, that's when your imagination reared its pathetic head. I simply allowed you to play with it for a little so you could have some fun, but now I'm the one who makes the rules." Creed's gaze darkened and his golden glow intensified. Ivy shielded her eyes until it faded, and when she looked back at him, Creed was holding a gleaming golden ax in his hands. "I'm the God of Wonderland, dearest Ivy. And no God wants to retire from his position in the heavens."

"You're not a god! You're nothing like it!" Ivy's gaze never left Creed's as she glared at him in defiance. "You're the devil, if anything. But certainly not a damned god!"

"A 'damned god'?" Creed laughed in merry amusement. "Only a human like you could use those two words in the same sentence." He lowered his voice and stepped forward threateningly. "You want to know a secret? My precious Alices were never like what they are today. My sweet Rose, the first Outsider, was really a modest young girl. I simply brought out her inner demons. Dearest Aria, the second Outsider, was as sane and intelligent as any other. I made sure her true fears of turning insane came true." Creed took another step forward. Ivy was now pressed up against the table with no means of escape. "Morte, strong Morte, was the third Outsider and a sweet young woman who preferred peace over violence. I took great pleasure in making her as cruel as possible. And lastly, my precious Charlotte, the fourth Outsider? She was as disobedient as a stray cat. It wasn't too hard to rewire her brain into wanting to obey me and only me."

"You bastard!" Ivy spat at Creed. "How dare you?"

"With the four of them, I can create the perfect girl. The perfect weapon. All I need is too merge their souls with Alice Liddell's, and the Alice of Perfection shall be born. Your soul will do nicely as well," Creed pressed the edge of the ax against Ivy's jugular and watched as her eyes widened in terror. "If only that annoying dream demon hadn't butted in and made everything go horribly wrong. He disobeyed the rules of this Game and fell for an Outsider who this Wonderland was not made of."

"What…do you mean by that?" Ivy asked, careful not to move too much.

"Despite holding most of the power in this universe, I cannot control Wonderland entirely sadly. It wanted to have fun, so one day it created a 'Game'. It found a young woman in your world who was desperately wishing for something more, and catered to her needs. Wonderland changed itself so that Rose could live happily here surrounded by what she wanted most: a caring family." Creed tapped the ax's handle thoughtfully. "Aria just wanted to sing. After I stole away Rose for my own, Wonderland once again found another girl from your world and brought her into these borders. Wonderland gave Aria the chance to sing her little heart out, and then I snatched her away as well. Morte lived during a time of war. Wonderland spirited her away into a peaceful and tranquil world where all her worries melted away. When I took that girl for my own also, Wonderland looked for another girl to make happy. They found Charlotte, a young lady who simply wanted to run free from all restrictions. After a sufficient time of being unbound from rules, I felt it was necessary to take her as well." Creed grinned horribly and leered at Ivy. "I took their wills and molded them to fit my needs. When Alice Liddell arrived in Wonderland, it was to escape the fact of her sister's death. She wanted to find comfort in people who loved her no matter what. Alice made me…angry. Angrier than I had ever felt before. So I took her earlier than usual, and now look where that's gotten us." Creed pressed the blade into Ivy's skin a bit harder, and she felt hot pricks of blood well up. "I wonder…what universe would Wonderland have created for you if you had been an original Outsider? One like Alice Liddell's? It's painfully obvious how badly you wanted to fall in love. Now that you've gotten your wish, how does it feel?"

Ivy didn't answer. Her mind was still reeling from all that information Creed had thrown at her. _Lorina Liddell died? That's why Alice got dragged into Wonderland, to escape her sadness? And Wonderland has altered itself to fit a girl's needs each Game? Then that book I have is most certainly before all of this, or else that would have mentioned it…_ "Where's Alice now?" Ivy finally asked after a few moments of pained silence.

"On her way here."

"And Nightmare? Where is he and Gray?"

"On their way as well."

"Why would you want to do this to innocent girls, Creed?" Ivy asked plaintively. "Just what would possess you to?"

"You've seen the prophecy, I presume?" Creed asked. Ivy nodded. "That was made by the very first denizens of Wonderland. They were a race of mystics who put their faith in mundane things like faith and magic. One day, a young shaman-like man dreamed of six girls from another world who would alter the fate of Wonderland forever. He copied down the prophecy you saw, and for many generations it was passed down to every royal family. Soon it became just a legend, and then just a dusty story in a book. Wonderland's people change as the people in your world do. They are like mirrors who only reflect what's between them." Creed's hand suddenly shot out and Ivy flinched, certain he was going to slap her. But Creed only ran a single finger down her cheek gently. "It's my duty to follow through with the prophecy. Fate insists I do. That's why I have done what I have done. That's why I will do what I have to do."

"Master Creed! Here they are!" Ivy and Creed's heads shot up as the four Alices walked in. Each of them but Rose was rolling a wooden crate along. When they got to Creed's side, Rose took a crowbar and ripped open the boxes' tops. "They've been sleeping peacefully, as you said they would." Rose happily tittered. "Caused absolutely no problems whatsoever!"

"Look inside them, Ivy." Creed stepped back and grabbed Ivy's arm, pulling her to the boxes. "Look at who has decided to join us."

Ivy gulped and, despite everything her mind was telling her to do, she looked down into the three boxes. And saw a sight that made her want to vomit up the little amount of food she had previously eaten.

For lying inside the boxes, curled up and sleeping like little children, were who Ivy had come to look for: Alice Liddell, Nightmare Gottschalk, and Gray Ringmarc. Nightmare and Gray wore their same clothes as they had before, but Alice was wearing a pure white dress that resembled a wedding dress almost. Ivy gasped and dove her hands inside Nightmare's box, shaking the dream demon wildly. "Wake up, Nightmare! You have to wake up!" She didn't bother to stop the tears from falling onto Nightmare's pale cheek and slid down onto his lap. His silver hair lifted upwards with every breath he took. Ivy sighed in relief when she saw that he really was sleeping. She turned to Creed and snapped, "What did you do to them?"

"Simply made them sleep!" Creed whistled innocently. "In this Game, dreams are everything. Alice wanted to believe Wonderland was just a dream. You and Nightmare rendezvous in dreams quite a lot, don't you?" He laughed when Ivy's face burned-she knew what he meant by "rendezvous". "And they will sleep until I say so. Don't worry, Ivy. I've made sure I've filled their heads up with wonderful dreams that make them very happy. Now…" Creed turned to the four Alices. "I would like you four girls to take your places. I'm going to have some last bit of fun with Miss Cainz before I create the perfect girl. You know what to do." He nodded at them, and all four ran off obediently.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ivy demanded hotly. She was inspecting Gray and Alice to make sure they were all right, too. They were both sleeping just as serenely as Nightmare was, little content smiles gracing their attractive faces. Ivy grasped Nightmare's hand in hers and squeezed it. _I'm right here, Nightmare._ She thought as clearly as she could. Maybe it would get to Nightmare even in his Creed-induced coma._ Even though I have no imagination now because this asshole has taken it, I'll protect you with everything I've got._ Ivy could have sworn Nightmare's lips moved as if in silent prayer, but she wasn't sure if it was just her head screwing with her.

"I'd like to see how well you fare with one of my other little pets without your imagination." Creed clapped his hands and the sound reverberated throughout the room. The castle suddenly began to shake, and a faraway roar issued forth from beneath the ground. Ivy fell as the tremors intensified, and Creed laughed when the floor under them began to crack. "It's playtime, my sweet Vermithrax!"

Ivy stared in horror as a thing of nightmares burst forth from the shattered stone floor, breathing the very breath of Hell upon everything in it's wake.

Creed's darling pet was a freaking jabberwocky of massive proportions.

_The least he could have done was allowed me to make a Vorpal sword,_ Ivy thought as she backed away from the hellish creature that was still shaking the stone fragments off its dragon-like body. _But then again, the devil never plays fair._

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

_He had heard her voice. Ivy had spoken to Nightmare, had held his hand. He was sure of it. Ivy wasn't just that odd phantom image standing in front of him, a permanent smile plastered to her face. This wasn't the real Ivy. The real Ivy wouldn't smile at him constantly. She'd tease and torment him in playful way with Gray. She'd try to get him to take medicine. She wouldn't just hold his hand and repeat over and over into his ear, "I love you, Nightmare."Nightmare wanted this dream to end._

_It wasn't a dream._

_It was a nightmare._

_Nightmare stiffened as he heard a deafening roar and then a high scream, one filled with sheer and absolute terror. "NIGHTMARE, WAKE UP!" Ivy begged from outside his mind. The plea shot through the dream realm Nightmare was floating in and shattered the fragile meadow that he had been surrounded by. The other Ivy shattered as well, her pieces floating around him as iris petals._

_Nightmare was surrounded by nothing but darkness now. He heard another scream, and he clenched his fists. "Ivy…" Nightmare whispered. "Ivy…IVY!"_

_And then his world turned from black to white, and then colorful as it had before._

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

**My mom wanted me to name the jabberwocky "Seymour Butts" but I told her that this was supposed to be dramatic and that would kill everything. -_-+ I love my mom though :D (I hope you all got that joke)**

**Well…this chapter was a bit tough to write because I did it right after I saw the VERY LAST Harry Potter movie. I've been crying off and on all day. TT^TT**

**But I hoped you all enjoyed it! Missing Dreams is almost at its end…I'll be very sad to let this story go.**

**Please review, and I really do hope this chapter made sense and was worthwhile. Creed is SO much fun to create, and I've had that whole little "Wonderland speech" he said in my head for awhile. It was entertaining to write it. :3**


	16. The Alice of Perfection

**Sorry for a late update! I've been busy with my summer job and other stories. I was a bit disappointed when I only got a couple for reviews for the last chapter; I hope I get more for this one! (What? I like it when people critique my work and stuff!) I'm going to try to avoid making such large paragraphs this chapter, so please bear with me! By the way, the reason the jabberwocky's speech is all in bold is so you can tell he talks REALLY scarily. ^_^ Kinda like when the put scary-looking font in manga whenever demons or something like that speak! Enjoy~! (Warning: this chapter is EXTREMELY long and may get a bit dry at some parts, but it's well worth reading. Why? Because it's the second to the last chapter, of course!)  
**

**Chapter Sixteen**

Ivy stared at the monster in front of her. It was as large as a double-decker bus and looked pretty much like a dragon. The only difference was the blockier shape of the head. It was as black as the night and steam issued forth from its nostrils. The jabberwocky had bright red eyes rimmed with silver and jagged teeth that jutted out from its jaw. It lashed its tail out and knocked down the banquet table, roaring so loud that Ivy's ears rang. The jabberwocky stared at her with a violent gaze, and Ivy stepped back in fear.

She was SO dead.

_Oh my God,_ Ivy gulped and fumbled for some sort of weapon amongst the rubble created by the jabberwocky's emergence. _There's no way I'm going to defeat this thing! FUCK YOU, CREED!_

"**A human girl? This is what you will have me fight, Creed?"**The jabberwocky tossed its head and snorted. Ivy was shocked-it spoke! Its voice was deep and hoarse, and sounded like a thing of nightmares. To Ivy, the jabberwocky's voice was almost like everything bad merged together.

"She's a tricky one, Vermithrax." Creed patted the creature's side lovingly. "Although, since I have sealed her imagination, you should have no problem. Dinner is on the house tonight, my dearest pet."

The jabberwocky-Vermithrax-swished his spiked tail and chuckled darkly. **"Dinner? This girl is not even a snack! Look how small and pathetic she is; it would take more than ten of her to fill me up even a little."**

"HEY! I'm not the one with the pathetic name that sounds like a rodent killer!" Ivy snarled in anger. She glowered at Vermithrax, not breaking eye contact with the horrific beast. She was desperately trying to summon her imagination, just HOPING something would happen. She knew Creed had "sealed" it, but Ivy didn't want to give up. Her newfound abilities were probably the only thing that would save Nightmare and the rest of the victims of Creed's insane motives. Ivy closed her eyes and shouted mentally: _NIGHTMARE, WAKE UP!_

If he answered, Ivy didn't know. She was too preoccupied trying to dodge the red-hot flames that were suddenly spurting from the jabberwocky's gaping maw, jumping over debris and hiding behind one of the columns that held the roof of the room up. Panting, Ivy sank against the cold stone and hugged herself tightly. She was terrified. Ivy didn't want to die-not like this. Ivy reached for Nightmare's mind again, searching for any sign that he was comprehensive to her thoughts. For a moment, nothing was there. Then, Ivy felt a small tug as another consciousness entered her mind, and she almost cried with relief when Nightmare's voice echoed throughout her head.

**IVY! Are you all right? What's going on? Where are we?**

_Nightmare…_ Ivy felt relieved tears prickling at her eyes. _You're finally awake…_ Vermithrax suddenly roared once more, and Ivy felt the impact on the column at her back as he slashed at the stone with his claws. Ivy rolled away from the crumbling pillar, leaping back up and running in the opposite direction of the jabberwocky. She looked over at the three boxes that held Nightmare, Gray, and Alice: they were safe from harm…for now.

_As much as I'd like to give you the whole story, I have to give you the cliff notes version: you, Gray, and Alice are in some weird coma-like state that Creed put you in, he sealed my imagination, and a freaking jabberwocky is trying to kill me. Oh, and Creed is apparently the being that controls Wonderland's imagination. Any questions?_

…**a whole lot, but I can tell you're a bit busy now.** Nightmare caressed Ivy's mind with his own, sending comforting emotions to her in a mental link. **Thank you, Ivy. You were what woke me up. Try to deal with the jabberwocky for as long as you can manage-I'll wake up Gray and Alice so we can help you. I'm the Role Holder with the power over the dreams of Wonderland, so I should be able to get them awake.** Nightmare gave a mental sigh and Ivy felt his annoyance. **That Creed guy picked the wrong man to put into an unwanted sleep. I'll make him pay.**

_Good luck,_ Ivy sent. She picked up a chunk of broken pillar and brandished it like a sword.

**I think I should be the one saying that.** Nightmare chuckled slightly.

Ivy grinned, but her momentary good mood was spoiled as another jet of fire shot at her. Ivy managed to duck just in time-if she had waited any longer hr head would have been roasting like a marshmallow. Ivy gritted her teeth and tried to bring force her imagination once more, but all she felt was a cold emptiness. It was as if a part of her was missing. Of course, something really WAS missing from Ivy, but she could still function properly without her imagination's powers. She just felt as weak as she had when she had first entered Wonderland_._

_There's something else you should know, Nightmare._ Ivy threw a rock at the jabberwocky's head, smirking when he roared with rage. Creed was smirking also from his position at Vermithrax's side, and Ivy knew that he thought for sure she was going to die. _The four Alices each had their own Wonderlands. Well, I shouldn't phrase it like that. Basically, according to Creed, Wonderland started to reach out to "Outsiders" who wanted something else in their life a long time ago. This world changed itself to fit those girls' needs; Alice is no exception._

**That's…I always knew I was created for Alice's sake, but not like that. So how do you explain me falling in love with YOU instead of ALICE.** Nightmare's mental voice was confused and Ivy felt his efforts as he tried to wake Gray and Alice. She shifted her gaze to the three boxes and saw the one that contained Nightmare shift slightly. Other than that, they were as still as before.

_Maybe whatever forces that truly control the Game just decided for it to happen._ Ivy suggested. She was going to have to stop speaking to Nightmare soon so that she could keep up with avoiding the jabberwocky's attacks. Ivy threw herself to the ground as Vermithrax swung his spiked tail at her, and she felt the very tip grab a couple of strands of her black hair along with it._ Nightmare, I need my full concentration now. Please try to help me as soon as you can. I…I love you. _She added the last part a bit hesitantly, not sure how Nightmare would react.

Nightmare's response was warm and comforting. **I love you too, Ivy. Good luck. I'll send a thought to Peter for backup; he'll be able to teleport here if I give him the scenery of our current location. Just hang in there, okay?**

Ivy and Nightmare broke off their mental connection so that they could concentrate on their current tasks at hand: Ivy with dodging Vermithrax's blows, Nightmare with awaking Gray and Alice.

"You can't keep running away from Vermithrax, my dear!" Creed called out tauntingly to Ivy. "You'll tire yourself out. How would you be able to protect your precious friends if you can't even save yourself?"

"Shut up!" Ivy hissed. She and Vermithrax stared each other down, blue-green eyes meeting evil crimson orbs. The jabberwocky stalked forward a few steps, and Ivy backed away a few more feet. She was trying to come up with a plan, but nothing was forming. Ivy was simply too stressed to think clearly. She wished frantically that her imagination would be unblocked soon, but she knew it was hopeless. Creed was obviously enjoying her helplessness, and there was no way in hell that the white-haired bastard would give Ivy her abilities back. Ivy gulped and went for the best option at the time: give a loud battle cry and run at Vermithrax's underside with the rock fragment she wielded like a sword.

The jabberwocky was clearly a bit taken aback at Ivy's bold move. He gave a growl and tried to swipe at the girl who was diving under his bulk, but only succeeded in slicing his own stomach. Black blood dripped from the wound, and Vermithrax bellowed in rage. Ivy silently praised the author of the Wonderland's history book as she recalled it's words about making the jabberwocky hurt itself. Yes, Ivy wasn't doing it exactly the way the book had described, but she was doing her best.

Ivy latched onto Vermithrax's hind leg and held on tightly as the beast tried to shake her off. She yelped when he belched fire at her head and let go so that she dropped from the current danger as the flames passed over her head. Ivy was now in the direct path of the jabberwocky's sight; all hope seeped out of her as Vermithrax stared her down smugly. **"I was hoping you would be the type of prey to put up more of a fight," **He purred in delight, wrapping his clawed forearm around Ivy's waist and bringing her up so that she could smell the rotted smell coming from his mouth. Ivy could see milky-white liquid dripping from Vermithrax's fangs-poison. Ivy gave a cry as the jabberwocky's grip tightened. **"Creed made you seem more dangerous with the way he described you to me."**

"Dammit…" Ivy gasped out, struggling to break free. The oxygen was slowly being cut off form her lungs by Vermithrax's iron grip. "Nightmare…! I hope you're…almost done!" Her eyes starting seeing little white dots everywhere, and Ivy gave up with squirming. She hung limp in Vermithrax's claws, desperately trying to get at least something from her imagination to appear. Ivy pictured a suit of armor and a sword like she remembered from the recent Alice in Wonderland movie-the Vorpal Sword and Vorpal Armor. Nothing appeared on her body or in her hand.

Creed threw his head back ad laughed, a mocking chuckle that made the white spots Ivy was seeing turn red with anger. "I can sense you trying to summon your imagination back. It's no use, Ivy Cainz! I am the one holding your abilities under my control now! It's pointless to fight back!" His silver eyes gleamed with victory. "Although, your efforts certainly are amusing." Creed waved his hand in a motion that told Vermithrax to hurry up. "Come now, old friend. Eat her so we can get on with our plan. My precious Alices are at the Moon's Eye, ready for the ceremony to begin." The way Creed said "Moon's Eye," Ivy knew it was something important.

"**And you swear that once you hold sway over all of Wonderland and the dimension connected to it, I will gain the power of imagination as well?"** Vermithrax inquired. Ivy's eyes widened; Creed had a deal with the jabberwocky?

Creed nodded solemnly. "Of course, Vermithrax. Jabberwocky are the embodiment of the evil imaginings of the humans living in the world where the Outsiders come from. It's a shame that they themselves don't hold the capacity to control imagination." Once again, shock pounded at Ivy's skull. Jabberwocky really WERE created of pure evil? And from her own world's thoughts, too…

"**Very well. I hold you to that promise, Creed."** Vermithrax turned his gaze back to Ivy and his jaws opened a bit more. An awful stench hit Ivy like a tidal wave. **"Farewell, human girl. It is a shame that you weren't a very entertaining prey."** The jabberwocky lifted Ivy up to his jaws and was about to shove her all the way in when a gunshot suddenly echoed through the air. Vermithrax flinched and then snarled with fury, dropping Ivy to the floor and whirling around to see his assailant. Ivy coughed as the air rushed back into her lungs, and she rubbed her sides where the jabberwocky's claws had held her. Ivy looked where Vermithrax was looking, also, and what she saw made her do a double-take in surprise.

It was Gray.

He was wide awake, pointing a gun at the enraged jabberwocky before him. Nightmare was supporting a weak-looking Alice against her box, but all three were awake now. Gray's gun clicked as he changed the ammunition and he said calmly, "Step away from the girl, beast."

"**NO! She is my prey, worthless human!" **Vermithrax bellowed, beginning to charge forward at Gray. Creed held his hand out and clenched his fist, and the jabberwocky stopped suddenly as if suspended by invisible chains. He raged and twisted in his halted position, but he couldn't get out.

"No, Vermithrax!" Creed yelled. He was looking startled. "Those are MY prey. You WILL respect my wishes." He stepped forward and slowly walked over to Ivy, not releasing his hold on Vermithrax. With his other hand, Creed yanked Ivy up by the arm and pulled her over to where Nightmare, Gray, and Alice were residing. All three watched the cloaked man warily as he sauntered over, Ivy in tow. "How did you three break free from your slumber?" Creed inquired curiously. Ivy could tell that deep down, Creed was PISSED. And a little worried.

Nightmare looked at Ivy, his single violet eye meeting hers. "Ivy woke me up. And, since I'm the dream demon of Wonderland, getting these two out of your shitty-ass sleeping spell thing was easy. Honestly, Creed, if you're going to fight a nightmare like myself…" Nightmare grinned, his handsome face twisted smugly. "Use a better weapon than cliché dreams."

"And just how did Ivy wake you up?" Creed demanded. This time, his voice was a bit more hysterical.

"She simply told me to. If Ivy asks me to do something, I'd better do it. That's what people who are in love do, right?" Nightmare stepped forward and wrenched Ivy away from Creed's grip; the imagination ruler didn't even react. Instead, he just stared at the four people in front of him in shock. "Ivy, are you all right?" Nightmare whispered against her skin. His silver hair tickled her cheek.

Ivy nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for butting in when you guys did."

"Gray did, I just woke him up."

"Thanks, Gray." Ivy said to the former assassin. He nodded, staying silent. Ivy then grasped Alice's hands, looking her fellow Outsider up and down. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Alice looked really pretty in the white dress she had been put into. "Alice…it's good to see you're all right."

Alice's teal eyes glistened with tears. "You really came," She whispered, shaking with relief. "Ivy…thank you…" Her gaze hardened as she looked at the flailing jabberwocky behind Creed. "But it's not over yet. You're the one who has to stop Creed, Ivy. Nightmare has sent for the other Role Holders to come help, but until they arrive…you're the only person with the power to fight this bastard."

"But my imagination is being blocked!" Ivy protested. "I can't do a thing!"

Alice looked solemnly into Ivy's eyes. "You can overcome the barrier Creed put on your imagination because you're not an original Wonderland resident. Just keep looking into your mind. I've been with Creed for enough time now to know this things." Her expression became a bit sarcastic, and Alice whispered, "And I've missed having all the guys being in love with me SOOOO much I could cry."

Ivy laughed a little. "Don't worry, Alice. I promise I'll end this asshole's psychotic scheme here and now. Just wait with Gray and Nightmare, okay?" Ivy turned to Nightmare and Gray. "I'm going to try to get my imagination back now. Watch after each other. Creed's time is over, I swear it." The black-haired girl then marched right up to Creed, who appeared as if frozen. "Creed, it's time to end all of this. You ready to have your sorry ass kicked?"

Creed's stony expression twisted into one of rage, and he made a grab for Ivy's throat. Ivy sidestepped and began to reach deeper and deeper into her mind for her blocked imagination. "You're nothing!" Creed cried out in a crazy tone, unclenching his fist so that Vermithrax could run free. "I'll destroy every last bit of you, girl, and then I'll be ruler of everything I lay in my sights!" He barked a harsh laugh as the jabberwocky launched itself at Ivy, who began to run as far away from her friends as possible.

"Damn," Ivy muttered, hopping nimbly over some splintered wood. "How will I get my imagination back?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Ivy suddenly felt the barrier inside of her that Creed had erected to block her powers. Ivy reached into it, pulling the magical sensation of her imagination. She almost had the entire thing out when a sharp claw swiped at her leg, causing her tumble and cry out in pain. Blood started to gush out of the gash in her leg, and Ivy stared up into Vermithrax's deranged eyes.

"**Playtime is over, girl."** The jabberwocky growled, rearing his head back like a king cobra before it closed in to bite unsuspecting prey. **"I hope it was amusing for you."** And then Vermithrax struck.

Ivy squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the sharp fangs to pierce her head, for the venom to sink into her bloodstream. But nothing was happening. Puzzled, Ivy opened her eyes once more and gaped at who was standing in front of her, blocking Vermithrax's advance. "A…Ace?"

For the Knight of Hearts was between the bleeding girl and the jabberwocky, using his broadsword to block Vermithrax's head. He turned his head and smiled pleasantly at Ivy. "Hi, Ivy! Sorry we took so long. We had to get all our weapons and stuff before we came." He grunted and gave his sword a shove, pushing Vermithrax away.

"We?" Ivy blinked in confusion, the pain in her leg forgotten for a few moments. Then she looked around: scattered about in different positions, all with weapons galore, were the male Role Holders of Wonderland (Excluding Joker and Pierce Villiers). Ivy felt a relieved smile tug at her mouth and she gasped, "Oh my God!" Ivy was so happy she wanted to kiss each one of them…but not with tongue. Tongue was reserved for Nightmare only.

"Ivy! You found my precious Alice!" Peter shouted out, holding his gun at Creed's head. "Thank you!" The White Rabbit smiled happily at Alice, who looked like she was weighing her options of either hiding behind Gray in case Peter would try to hug her or hugging the albino Role Holder instead. Ivy giggled slightly at the conflicting expressions on Alice's face.

"**Role Holders!" **Vermithrax snarled, backing away so he had a good look at all the humans surrounding him. **"You're foolish if you think you can take me down!"**

"That's why we're leaving that task to the young lady over there," Blood nodded in Ivy's direction. He gave her an approving glance. "Peter told us about your…abilities. You've done your job finding Alice for us; I take back what I said earlier."

"She can't do anything!" Creed shrieked. "I've sealed her imagination! HAHA!"

"Actually…" Ivy slowly managed to get up, only to begin to stumble forward and almost fall. Ace rushed forward and caught her arm, allowing her to lean on him slightly. Nightmare gave him a "Don't touch my girl" look, and Ace laughed. Ivy gave him a nod to show her thanks, then looked at Creed. Elliot and the Twins were holding the man down, and Julius and Peter were aiming their gun noses at him. Gowland and Boris were alongside Blood, keeping Vermithrax in check. Ivy smiled pleasantly at Creed as a silver sheen suddenly wrapped itself around her, flaring briefly and then settling like moonlight. Her wound healed instantly. "I broke your silly little seal on my mind and got my imagination back out. What now, bitch? Never underestimate an Outsider!"

Creed's eyes widened and he suddenly disappeared, making Elliot and the Twins gape in shock. Vermithrax roared in vehemence and thrashed around as if invisible chains bound him; Ivy recognized the golden glow of Creed's imagination that was wrapped around the jabberwocky's body like ropes. **"Damn you, Creed!"** Vermithrax sounded scared. Now that Ivy had her imagination back, she could create a Vorpal Sword to destroy him. **"You deceived me!"**

"Ivy, what the hell just happened?" Nightmare yelled over Vermithrax's bellowing. "Where did Creed go?"

"He disappeared using his powers, probably to the 'Moon's Eye'…whatever that is." Ivy explained as all the Role Holders surrounded her. Gray was supporting Alice, who was still weak from her confinement by Creed. Blood and Peter glared at him, and Gray helped her over to them. She looked a bit dazed to see all her potential lovers, but also relieved. "I think it's where he's going to try to create the Alice of Perfection."

"But won't he need ALICE to do that?" Gray pointed out. Everyone else voiced in their bewilderment.

"Yeah, I know. I'm a bit confused-" Before Ivy could finish, Alice suddenly began to disappear.

Blood made a startled sound and clutched at her slowly vanishing hand, staring at Ivy in shock. "Do something, damn you!" He commanded.

Alice's eyes widened. "W-what's happening?"

"I don't know!" Ivy answered. She tried holding onto Alice's being with her imagination, but for some reason it wasn't working. Ivy collapsed as a sharp pain shot across her body and Alice vanished completely. Panting, Ivy whispered, "I think Creed just summoned Alice to where he and the other Alices are hiding…" She raised her head and met Nightmare's eyes. "Nightmare, do you think you guys can defeat Vermithrax if I make a Vorpal Sword for you?"

"What are you trying to say?" Nightmare demanded roughly, yanking her up. His pale face was slick with worry. "You're not going to try to run off and fight Creed by yourself, are you?"

"I have to!" Ivy protested. "It's my…duty."

"Ivy, there's no way we're letting you do this all alone," Gray calmly said. "Don't even argue."

"But-!" Ivy looked down and clenched her fist. "This is my fault. If I hadn't been caught off guard by Creed, I would have been able to finish this a long time ago. I let him block my imagination. So it just makes sense if I'm the one to find him. Alone," She added when Nightmare opened his mouth to protest. "Besides, I was the one picked by Wonderland to save Alice. What would happen if you guys came with me?"

"Don't be preposterous," Julius huffed. "You may be stronger than we all expected, but you still cannot defeat that man by yourself."

"If you die, other pretty lady, we'll be sad!" Dee and Dum chimed in. "Because then BOTH the pretty ladies will probably be gone and we'll be lonely!"

"Ivy, my girl, stop trying to be a hero and let us help, dammit!" Gowland snapped.

"What if you mess up?" Elliot asked pointedly. "What if you need backup?"

"Dude, you can't just waltz in by yourself and expect that dickhead to go easy on you!" Boris added.

Ivy stared at all the Role Holders. They were right, of course. Ivy knew she wouldn't be able to defeat Creed with just her abilities alone. But she didn't want a whole army behind her-she didn't want that many people to get hurt. Ivy shook her head though, and insisted, "No! I can't let anyone else come. Don't argue!" Before anyone else could protest, Ivy summoned her imagination and thought of everything good she could. In her hands, a slender object began to take form. Ivy thought if her and Nightmare's kiss; when she first found the Alice in the Country of Hearts manga at her library; about the time when Nightmare and Gray rescued her from the Joker's forest. Ivy thought of all the wonderful things that had happened to her. Above all, she thought about her love for Nightmare. In a whisper, Ivy spoke to the glowing object in her hands: "Please help me defeat the jabberwocky that wants to destroy me and my friends."

And then the first Vorpal Sword was created after many centuries of their disappearance from Wonderland.

It was beautiful. It had a long silver blade and a golden hilt, and power radiated from it's imagination-crafted steel. The sword itself seemed to whisper things, but what they were Ivy couldn't really tell. All she knew was that it wanted to obey her every command. Ivy held up the Vorpal Sword and said loudly, "I name you Dream Wielder, for you contain all my hopes and dreams for saving Wonderland from destruction!" The sword in her hands shimmered and Vermithrax bellowed in fear. Ivy felt a bit drained from creating the sword, but she advanced toward the beast in front of her anyway. Creed's bonds were still tightly wrapped around Vermithrax's body, and the jabberwocky tried to pull away from them. It only caused him pain.

"Holy shit, you made a freaking Vorpal Sword?" Nightmare gaped in shock at the weapon in Ivy's grasp. "How did you-" The dream demon broke off and shook his head. "You know what, I always had a feeling you could do it. You're amazing, Ivy."

"Thanks." Ivy smiled and nodded.

"Are you going to kill that abomination now?" Gray asked. Everyone else had gone completely silent, staring in wonder at what Ivy had created with her imagination.

Ivy simply nodded and turned her attention back on Vermithrax. "I'm sorry, but you can't live anymore." Ivy whispered softly to the jabberwocky. His crimson eyes were full of terrified hatred, and he attempted to snap at her. The golden chains visible only to Ivy restrained him. Ivy held her Vorpal Sword at Vermithrax's chest, remembering what the book had said about killing jabberwockies. She aimed Dream Wielder where his heart was and closed her eyes, not wanting to see what she was about to do. With a swift thrust, Ivy felt Dream Wielder jab into Vermithrax's chest and sink into the hard skin. Ivy flinched as the jabberwocky gave an inhuman scream of pain and a spray of hot blood splattered her in the face. Ivy kept pushing the sword into his body until she felt it stop; she had made it to the heart. Vermithrax was panting and gasping, pleading with Ivy to stop.

"**STOP! I will assist you in defeating that bastard Creed! Just please…make the pain stop…"**

"I can't," Ivy whispered. "I'm so sorry…but this if for your own good. You'll be better off after this; I promise." And then she yanked her sword out of Vermithrax's chest, pulling the shriveled black heart along with it. The organ steamed as it pumped furiously on the silver blade, and Vermithrax roared one last time. Ivy whimpered as the evil heart on her sword crumbled into ash, and then the jabberwocky body followed suit. Ivy collapsed amongst the hot black powder, trembling. It had seemed so easy, slaying the jabberwocky. But it had also been hard; Ivy felt horrible about killing Vermithrax. Even though he was evil, he had been just a pawn of Creed also.

"I'll kill him," Ivy whispered to the ash scattered around her. "I'll kill Creed. I will!"

"Ivy," Nightmare placed a hand on her shoulder and quietly said, "You did good. But you still have one last thing to do."

"I know," Ivy took his outstretched hand and allowed him to pull her up. Even though she was covered in blood and ash, Nightmare let her fall against him as she shook with horror. "I'm scared, Nightmare." Ivy admitted in a whisper. "I'm so scared…"

"You're not going to be alone." Nightmare took Ivy's face in his hands. "I don't care what you say, but I'm going with you. I'm going to see this through to the end, and you can't stop me. Got it?"

Ivy wanted to protest, to argue and shout at him for being stupid. But she couldn't. Instead, Ivy merely nodded. She couldn't find the strength to speak. Instead, Ivy hugged Nightmare tightly and said in her mind, _Take my hand. I'll bring us to where Creed is. I think I can find him if I concentrate my imagination on where his is._

"Stay here," Nightmare commanded the other Role Holders as he grasped Ivy's hands tightly. "Ivy and I will be back quickly." He looked down at Ivy with his violet eye. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Ivy replied. She closed her eyes and concentrated on Creed's energy. There was a path in her mind, almost; Ivy could see a golden glow where Creed had been. _Follow! _Ivy commanded her imagination. She felt her and Nightmare disappear from the other Role Holders, who were all giving them shouts of "Good luck!"

And then Ivy and Nightmare were at the Moon's Eye.

Ivy stared around her surroundings in surprise; the Moon's Eye was the odd rock formation that she had flown over when she had been searching for Creed's lair. It was dark out, and the moon was reflected in the water in the middle of the rock formation. Ivy could see why it was called the Moon's Eye. There were four tall rocks with flat tops at every side, and in the middle of the water was a flat patch of earth. Ivy gasped as she realized that there were figures on all the flat surfaces.

Rose was on the rock in the north; Aria was standing on the rock pointing south; Morte was position on top of the rock in the direction of east; Charlotte stood on the rock that was over in the west. On the small island in the middle of the water, a figure in white lay before a figure dressed in black. It was Alice and Creed.

"Creed!" Ivy called from where she and Nightmare stood; they were on the bank of the small lake. "Vermithrax is dead, and soon you will be too!"

"I think not, you little bitch!" Creed yelled. He smirked and clapped his hands together, then placed them on Alice's inert body. She began to shine a bright white, almost like the moon itself, and the other Alices began to glow as well. Crimson, indigo, emerald, and gold glows came from where they stood, and suddenly they began to move like towards Alice and Creed. Ivy and Nightmare didn't move; they stood, transfixed, watching as a cruel parody of a rainbow settled on Alice. She stopped glowing for a brief moment, and then a flash so bright that Ivy and Nightmare had to look away issued form her body. It was suddenly daytime, then, and the two could see what had become of Alice.

Alice's hair was as white as Creed's. Her colorless dress was now black with red hearts, blue diamonds, green clovers, and yellow spades patterning the fabric. Creed stood over Alice, laughing as she got up and opened her eyes. They were silver, just like Creed's. "It is done!" Creed embraced Alice, who just stood there stiffly. "She has been born…my ultimate weapon, the embodiment of my precious experiments before this momentous occasion! Alice Liddell…is the Alice of Perfection!" Ivy gasped when she realized that Alice's face was completely devoid of any emotion, her now-silver eyes blank and unseeing.

Ivy manifested wings onto her back once more, relishing the comforting feel as the silver feathers fanned out and flapped a bit. She also made the grim and grit disappear from her body. "Nightmare, stay back," Ivy warned. "Alice isn't Alice anymore. She's…she's the weapon Creed has wanted for a very long time."

Nightmare didn't even blink as he took in the sudden appearance of Ivy's wings. "What are you thinking of doing?"

"I'm gonna stab Creed through the heart with Dream Wielder, and then hope that turns Alice back to normal." Ivy said. Without waiting for his response, Ivy launched herself into the air and flew at Creed and Alice. She landed before the two figures, holding Dream Wielder out in a way she hoped looked threatening. "You ready to die, Creed?" Ivy asked.

"Never!" Creed snarled. "Alice, attack!" His eyes were swirling with madness, and he stepped back as the Alice of Perfection met Ivy's eyes. She stepped towards Ivy and held out her hands. Ivy almost didn't dodge the odd white energy that suddenly shot out from Alice's palms; she was too concerned about not harming her fellow Outsider.

"Gah!" Ivy flew up just in time to avoid being struck by the white energy. _Nightmare, I'm going to put a protective shield on you just in case things get ugly!_ She shouted to Nightmare inside her mind. He hadn't moved from his position across the lake from her, which was a good thing since she had told him to stay back. Ivy threw up the silver barrier around Nightmare, making it fit to his very form so it was almost like a second skin. _Do you think you can somehow boost my powers with your own mental abilities?_**I'll try,** Was his response. Almost instantly, Ivy felt more awake and powerful. **There. That wasn't so hard. Please, Ivy…be safe. I don't know what I'll do if you manage to get…killed.** Nightmare's voice was soft and pleading.

_I promise!_ Ivy flew around and surveyed Alice as she simply stood there, as if she was waiting for Ivy to make another move. Ivy could feel Creed's evil aura emanating from his entire being, and it threatened to swallow Ivy up and surround her with hopelessness and despair. Ivy shook her head and soared down at Alice, acting as if she was going to dive bomb her. As Alice held out her hands to shoot another one of her weird energy beams, Ivy veered up and went for Creed instead. The embodiment of imagination quickly threw up his own force field. Ivy crashed into the golden shield and cried out as she sank to the ground.

"Foolish girl!" Creed sang. "You honestly believe you can beat MY imagination with YOURS? I may not be able to seal your abilities anymore, but I can still defeat you! I have had such a long time to hone my powers…you've only had a few mere time periods!" Creed summoned the golden ax in his hands and stepped over Ivy, who couldn't move for some reason. With a curse, she realized it was because Creed had put chains hewn from his imagination's powers like he had with Vermithrax.

"Master. Shall I kill her?" Alice asked. Her voice was a mixture of her own, Rose's, Aria's, Morte's, and Charlotte's. It was eerie, hearing a chorus of female voices echoing from a signal body. She stared at Ivy with her odd silver eyes that held no hint she even recognized Ivy's face. "This girl is a nuisance to you, is she not? As your perfect weapon, it is my duty to destroy anything that hinders you."

"Let us kill her together, my sweet." Creed cooed. Ivy almost gagged with the fake sweetness Creed forced into his voice. Both he and the dramatically-altered Alice loomed over Ivy with nothing but death in their eyes. Ivy tried to break free of the bonds Creed had put on her, but he was right; his imagination was far stronger than hers. Dream Wielder lay useless in her frozen hands, and Ivy desperately wracked her mind for some sort of idea.

Nothing was coming to her.

"Dammit!" Ivy hissed through clenched teeth. She heard Nightmare calling her name in frantic concern, and she wished her imagination was strong enough. Ivy might have succeeded in making her own Vorpal Sword, but Creed was the being that controlled imagination itself. The only way Ivy would have a chance of winning would be if he-

_That's it! _Ivy's eyes widened as the thought suddenly came at her. _Nightmare! I know how to defeat Creed!_

**How?** Even Nightmare's mental voice was breathless with anxiety at Ivy's safety. **Whatever it is, you'd better do it quickly!**

Creed held his ax over Ivy's head; Alice held her palms outwards towards Ivy's body. Ivy knew that if she didn't act fast, she'd be dead. "You know, if your imagination is so much stronger than mine, then what would happen if NEITHER of us had access to our abilities?" Ivy asked in a curious tone. She tried to keep the fear out of her voice. "Are you stronger than me when we're normal?"

"…What?" Creed furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What are you getting at, girl?"

"Let's play a game: you seal your imagination, I seal mine. Then we see who's ultimately the strongest without our powers, since we already know for a fact that you're the better imagination user." Ivy's flattery dripped poisonous honey that Creed didn't notice, he was so taken aback by her statement.

"That's actually a brilliant idea!" Creed's ax instantly vanished. "Alice, dear, you stay back. Let your master handle this." Alice stepped back to let Ivy and Creed have more room on the flat rock. "You seal your imagination first," Creed ordered Ivy roughly, kicking her in the ribs.

Ivy hissed in pain but didn't give any other reaction. Instead, she said in a clear tone, "I can't do it with these bonds you put on me." Ivy looked up at Creed with guileless eyes.

Creed huffed indignantly, but he waved a hand over Ivy's body and the restraints holding her down loosened and disappeared. Ivy got up and brushed herself off. "Now you seal your abilities," Creed stared Ivy down relentlessly. "I'll check with mine to see if you actually did, and then deal my own when I'm satisfied with your work."

"But what if YOU don't seal your imagination?" Ivy shot back. "How will I be able to know that?"

"I give you my word. If you don't stop stalling, I will kill you right now," Creed threatened. Alice nodded in consent. She seemed so ethereal and unearthly to Ivy now that her appearance was so changed due to having five souls converged within in body. Not to mention her different personality, too. Ivy was horrified that she hadn't been able to stop Creed from creating his "ultimate weapon" but she was going to make it right soon. Very soon.

"All right, all right. Let me figure this out…" Ivy closed her eyes and made contact with Nightmare's mind. The instant she did, he flooded her with a stream of upset thoughts that bolted through her head like a million gunshots.

**What the hell do you think you're doing? THIS is your plan; giving Creed a better advantage over you? You KNOW he won't keep his word, Ivy! **Nightmare's sentences were loud and angry in Ivy's mind, and she had to grit her teeth to keep from yelling at him out loud.

_I'm going to send my imagination over to you, and then at the last second, I want you to send it back so I can surprise Creed and attack him before he knows what hit him,_ Ivy explained calmly despite the gut-wrenching doubt that settled deep within her. She wasn't sure if her plan was going to work. _It'll be fine,_ She lied, gathering up her imagination's energy so she could send it to Nightmare through their link. _And it'll be easy for you to give me that back; I know it._

**Are you completely and utterly sure? Doubly, triply, quadrupley sure that this insane plan of yours is going to work? **Nightmare insisted.

_Yes. No more questions._ Before Nightmare could argue, Ivy pushed all of her imagination's abilities into Nightmare's being. Her Vorpal Sword disappeared, and Ivy felt naked and vulnerable. She turned to Creed and asked, "Did I seal it right?" Ivy desperately hoped he wouldn't be able to sense her imagination's new home in Nightmare.

Creed seemed to sniff the air around her, then he nodded. "It appears so." Creed closed his eyes for a brief moment and then opened them again. Without her imagination's powers, Ivy couldn't tell if Creed had really put a blockade on his own. "There. I am without my powers as well." In a smug tone, he added, "Now…I wonder how well you will fare against 'God' when he has no advantages?"

Ivy didn't answer. She merely spread her legs apart and dug her heels into the dirt, holding her fists up in the way she had seen street fighters do in movies. Ivy gulped as her life in Wonderland came rushing at her; this was the final battle. She couldn't afford to lose this.

"Ivy Cainz…Prepare to die." Creed rushed forward with a speed Ivy knew he wouldn't be capable of if he hadn't truly sealed his imagination. Ivy blocked the jab he gave her and ducked as Creed swung his leg over her head in an effort to knock her down. Ivy's body began to react on its own, relying on muscle memory from all those martial arts lessons she had attended as a young girl.

_Duck…Slide to the left…Jump backwards…Block with your right elbow…_ The commands flew through Ivy's mind like a bullet. Sweat poured off of every inch of her body. She could feel Nightmare wanting to give her imagination back, but Ivy strictly sent him thoughts to wait. She would know when the time was right. Ivy was certain of that. As Ivy dodged the blows Creed tried to land on her, she glanced over at the eerily silent Alice. Alice's eyes were flashing from silver to teal, teal to red, red to blue, blue to green, green to yellow. Her face seemed to shift into the other Alices' faces, and each one looked as concerned as the next. Whether Alice was concerned for Ivy or for Creed, she didn't know.

Ivy suddenly lost her balance as a small dip in the ground passed under her. Creed saw his opening and went for it, thrusting his fist out and connecting with Ivy's gut. Ivy gasped as pain coursed through her, and she fell backwards holding her stomach and breathing heavily. "Damn…" Ivy managed to huff out, wincing as the word caused a spiral of agony through her ribs. Even though Creed had made contact with her stomach area, it felt like the blow had reverberated through her entire body. Ivy was certain a couple of ribs were broken.

Creed loomed over Ivy, his face impassive yet victorious. It was a crude combination that marred his handsome features. "You lose, Ivy Cainz." He whispered. A golden glow covered his hands and a pistol that shone as if it was created from the sun materialized into them. "You were right; I AM a devil. And you should never trust those delightful folks." Creed pushed the nose of the gun against Ivy's forehead, smirking when her eyes widened. "Your Game is over, my dear. And mine has just begun."

Before Creed could pull the trigger, Ivy screamed inside her mind, _NOW, NIGHTMARE!_ Instantly, Ivy felt the power flooding into her veins as Nightmare thrust her imagination back into her mind. Ivy's ribs instantaneously healed and her exhaustion floated away. Her breathing slowed and returned to normal, and Ivy grinned as Dream Wielder manifested in her hands. Creed's eyes shot open and he fumbled for the trigger, but it was too late.

Ivy plunged the blade of her Vorpal Sword into Creed's chest and watched as his face slackened with shock. "H-How did you…" His voice was guttural and hard to understand. "I just wanted…to rule my own…perfect universe…that's all I ever…wanted…" Ivy pulled her sword out and Creed fell to the ground as black blood welled up from the gaping hole in his chest. Like the jabberwocky, his heart was just a withering black organ that pulsated weakly as it fought for life on the end of Ivy's sword.

"I said it before and I'll say it again: never underestimate an Outsider." Ivy said with a flourish.

"You won't be able to come back to Wonderland now that your role is complete…defeating me will destroy the love you and Nightmare Gottschalk have managed to create…" Creed managed to say before his entire body simply vanished into thin air, leaving behind a thin layer of golden dust in the shape of his corpse. His heart disappeared as well. Ivy stared at the fine powder on the ground as she pondered his last words.

"Ivy!" Ivy's head shot up as Alice stumbled forward. She still resembled the "Alice of Perfection" but her eyes were no longer silver-they had resumed their original bright teal. Ivy caught Alice's stumbling figure and watched as her fellow Outsider suddenly shone with white light, like she had before when Creed was merging the other Alices' souls with hers. A colorful lightshow shot out of Alice's chest, and her exotic appearance faded back to her normal one. Four orbs of color floated around Ivy: red, blue, green, and yellow. Alice stared in shock as they each morphed into translucent figures of girls.

"Ivy, you did it!" The blonde girl danced around Ivy happily. "You saved us!" Charlotte smiled and looked as free as she had been obedient only mere minutes before.

"I knew you would succeed!" Morte clapped Ivy on the shoulder only to have her hand pass right through. Her mocha-shaded skin shone in the sunlight.

"Ivy, you were amazing," Aria said sincerely. Her sapphire eyes shone with tears. "You and everyone else who fought so hard to bring us back."

"You did good, kid." Rose nodded in congratulations. Her attractive face was a mask of satisfaction. "Real good. I've been waiting so long to get out of that bastard's control."

Ivy grinned as the four former Alices returned to their orb states. "Where will you go now?"

"Now that our souls are free, we'll return home." Rose said as she bobbed alongside Ivy's head. "Time works differently in Wonderland than it does in our world, so we might be okay."

"Even though we live in different eras, I promise to find a way to visit you!" Charlotte swore. She brushed alongside Ivy's cheek.

"All of us will always be connected," Aria whispered in her melodious tone. "So we'll always be together in some way."

"I'll remember you forever, Ivy! And you too, Alice and Nightmare." Morte added as Nightmare suddenly appeared besides Ivy.

The four different colored orbs of light merged together as one and became a shining star almost. "Thank you, everyone!' The four girls chorused together as one. Then the glowing sphere shot off into the heavens in a blink of an eye, and Ivy lost sight of them.

Ivy turned to Nightmare and Alice. "Well…we did it." She smiled uncertainly. "We saved Wonderland." Ivy didn't know what else to say-what do you talk about after you had just saved an entire world from sure destruction?

And then Nightmare was kissing her furiously, holding her in his arms and whispering fervently into her ear, "I love you," over and over again. Ivy lost herself in the dream demon's kiss, sinking against Nightmare's body and not even caring that Alice was there to see everything. Nightmare reluctantly pulled away and said, "You're an idiot for pulling that stunt, Ivy! I was so damn worried about you! But…" He smiled and stroked her cheek tenderly with the tip of his thumb. "I'm glad it managed to work out."

"Me too," Ivy agreed. She turned to Alice. Ivy didn't know what to say to Alice; if she told her the truth about why Alice was in Wonderland, it could screw things up. So, Ivy just said instead, "What are you going to do now? Will you finish your Game? I think you can go home-we have your vial somewhere in the Tower of Clover, and it's full of that medicine crap."

Alice shook her head. Her eyes were slightly faraway. "I'll stay here. I have things to do. I still need to help Julius with his work-he must be really annoyed with all the stuff I haven't been able to do. I'll have to stay up as much as he does now to catch up…"

Ivy gave a single laugh and was about to reply when suddenly her entire chest ached. Grabbing her chest, Ivy sank down and stared at the ground as dizziness washed over her. "Ah…" Ivy clutched at her shirt and wondered why everything was beginning to almost…fade away. Was she sick? Or was she…

_Oh. _Ivy's eyes widened as she realized what was going on. _I'm going home now…because my duty of finding Alice is done._

"What's wrong?" Nightmare asked frantically, kneeling down beside her and wrapping his arms around her waist. Ivy let Nightmare holding her like a baby, too dizzy to really care about how stupid she must have looked. "Ivy, speak to me!" Nightmare shook her shoulders urgently. The eye that wasn't covered by his eye patch swirled with worry, and Ivy woozily thought about how nice it would be if he was allowed to take his eye patch off outside the dream realm.

"I have to go home now," Ivy croaked, holding her hands out and touching Nightmare's face lightly. The incubus flinched at her words. "I think I've know for a long time now…that as soon as I'd find Alice, Wonderland would return me home." Ivy sighed and closed her eyes. "I want to see my family. But I also want to stay here. I've become so much stronger in Wonderland than I ever was back home. When I leave here, I'll just be a plain old girl who keeps her nose in a book for too long. A girl who can't manifest things out of the air with her kick-ass imagination."

"And you'll miss the confidence you gained while here." Alice guessed. She placed her hands on her hips and saucily said, "Well, excuse me for saying this Ivy, but I think you've had the strength you have right now all along. It just took a little pushing to find it. Don't you DARE piss and moan about how ordinary you are outside of Wonderland, because you're not." Alice's expression softened. "Your imagination will stay with you when you return home, Ivy. You might not be able to create a sword out of thin air, but you'll be able to THINK of scenes in which a heroine can. Imagination is everywhere in the world. It's just, in Wonderland, your imagination can come to life." Alice laid a hand on Ivy's forehead. "I was able to watch you from the moment you entered Wonderland. You've become extraordinary, Ivy. You'll remain that way when you get home, but it will be in ways that only YOU know about. Be proud of the gifts you realized you had in you during your stay here; they'll always come in handy in the real world."

"How the hell did you get so…philosophic?" Ivy stared at Alice in surprised bewilderment. "Have you been reading presidential speeches or something?"

"No," Alice snapped, but it wasn't too harshly. "I just learned a few things while I was Creed's prisoner. Just go with it, okay?"

"Okay." Ivy smiled and nodded. The odd pulling sensation on her entire body became more insistent, and she looked back up at Nightmare. She felt tears prickling at her eyes, and she didn't even try to make them stop. "I love you," Ivy whispered, pressing her head against Nightmare's chest. She could hear the ticking of his clock, and she knew she was going to miss that more than she probably should have. "I'll never fall in love with anyone else, Nightmare. I'll always be yours, even when we're a world apart."

"I'll see you in your dreams, Ivy." Nightmare promised, kissing her softly on the nose. The incubus's lips were hot and cold at the same time. "Dreams link the worlds together. A world without dreams is a world without reality. Because when a dream ends, reality begins all over again. Remember that, will you?" He smiled sadly and embraced Ivy more tightly. "You're my dream girl, Ivy. You always will be."

"Goodbye," Ivy whispered as she felt herself fading. She looked down and saw that her body was transparent and see through. As the tears rolled down her cheeks in a stream of sadness, Ivy spoke the last words she knew she would ever say in Wonderland: "I love you with all my heart, Nightmare Gottschalk."

And then Ivy Cainz disappeared from the wonderful wonder world known as Wonderland, her role over and her next duty to return home and live the rest of her life there.


	17. Wonderful Wonder World

**This is it. The final chapter of ****Missing Dreams.**** I know I made a few mistakes in the course of this story, but I honestly think it was one of my best. Thank you everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and supported me on this story. It means a lot. Please enjoy the very last chapter! *cries while writing***

**Chapter Seventeen**

The first thing Ivy noticed was the smell of a too-sanitized atmosphere and the sound of an annoying beeping. There was muffled talking around her, and it felt like something was…in her arm. Ivy tried to open her eyes, but they were just too heavy. She shifted a bit and groaned slightly when the movement caused a sharp twang of being in an uncomfortable position. _Where the hell am I? _Ivy turned her head sideways and managed to crack open her eyes. At first, everything was an intense white. Then her pupils adjusted to the brightness and Ivy realized where she was.

In a hospital room.

There was a heart monitor staring at her mockingly, her heart rate steady in bright green on the screen. She was in one of those tiny hospital beds, the ones that adjusted with a click of a button. Ivy looked down at her arm and saw an IV attached to her vein, an odd pasty yellow fluid flowing through the clear tube. Ivy just kind of stared at it for a minute, then managed to croak out loud, "What the fuck…?" The last thing she remembered was disappearing in Nightmare's arms, and then…nothing.

The muffled voices suddenly escaladed in excitement, and a stampede of footsteps rushed into the hospital room. Ivy managed to lift her head up to see the three people she had missed the most during her adventure in Wonderland: her mother, her father, and her best friend Molly. "Ivy!" Ivy's mother flung her arms around Ivy's neck, pressing her face against the stiff hospital pillow. "You're awake…thank God…we thought we lost you…" Ivy felt a hot wetness clinging to her cheeks and realized her mother was crying.

"Mom…" Ivy whispered, beginning to cry her own tears of relief. "Mommy…Mommy!" Ivy sniffed and shook with quiet sobs, her strength just not good enough to embrace her mother back.

"You had us worried to death, idiot!" Molly reprimanded through her tears, smiling uncertainly. "You owe me so many games in Guitar Hero for this, it's not even funny."

"Ivy, honey," Ivy's father looked as if he was trying to hide the fact that he was crying happily also. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

Ivy shook her head as her mother unwrapped herself from her and stood up next to Ivy's father and Molly. "No. All I remember was-" Ivy broke off, realizing that it was best if she didn't mention Wonderland or what had transpired there to her family and friends. For one thing, they would never believe her. For another, they would most likely keep her in the mental ward of the hospital. "I was in my hidey-hole in my tree at the park, reading my library books."

"You must have fallen asleep, then, because it started to storm horribly after you left for the library." Ivy's mother explained. "The tree that you were in? It fell down, and the rescue crew found you unconscious inside it. The storm was a notch down a tornado, and there are so many trees that got taken down by the wind that it's no surprise your old one did too."

"You had so many broken bones, the doctors said that it was a miracle your spine didn't break also." Ivy's father cut it. He hugged his daughter tightly, and whispered, "We were certain that you were never going to wake up."

"How long have I been in the hospital?" Ivy asked. She wanted to know if she could come up with an estimated time of how long she had been in Wonderland. Suddenly, a pang of emotions swept over her, and another cascade of tears began their descent down her cheeks. _Nightmare…I miss you so much already and it hasn't even been five minutes._

"Two months." Molly answered when Ivy's parents looked as if it was painful for them to say so themselves. "You've been in a coma for about two months."

"Two…two whole months?" Ivy's eyes widened. That was longer than she expected. What if her trip to Wonderland had been just a coma-induced dream, one made of her highly active imagination and influenced by the Alice in the Country of Hearts manga she had so recently read before all of this had happened? Ivy didn't know what to believe. In a way, it would make sense to say that her journey in Wonderland HAD been just a very long and detailed dream. After all, hadn't Nightmare himself given Ivy an entire "the importance of dreams in Wonderland" speech before she had returned home? Ivy looked down at the sterile hospital floor and, just to see what would happen, thought, _Freeze._

Ivy waited a few moments. Nothing happened; the floor did not freeze over, the temperature did not drop. Ivy gave a short chuckle deep in her throat. "Right. Alice told me that I wouldn't be able to do anything with my imagination like I had been able to in Wonderland. I guess everything really was just a dream." But something still nagged at Ivy: could you fall in love as deeply as she had with Nightmare Gottschalk inside a dream? "Honey, what's the matter?" Ivy's mother asked, concerned at her daughter's mumbling.

"Nothing," Ivy replied quietly. "Just tired. Am I on painkillers? It sure feels like it. I'm so tired and lethargic, I can barely lift up my arms or turn my head."

"Well of COURSE you're on painkillers," Molly rolled her eyes at her best friend. "You had, like, fifty fractures! Oh, by the way," Molly resumed her usual routine that Ivy remembered-being slightly snobbish and teasing, but always there to help. "With all the school you missed, you have a helluva pile to catch up on for homework. I don't envy you one bit."

"Thaaaanks," Ivy drawled out sarcastically. "I'm soooooo ecstatic."

"Ivy, the doctors will be in to check on you in a little bit. We're going to go down to the cafeteria to get something to eat." Ivy's father placed a kiss on her forehead-right where Nightmare had. Ivy's heart wrenched as she recalled her last moments in Wonderland. "I love you, sweetie. I'm so glad that you finally woke up."

Ivy's parents and best friend exited the room, and Ivy lay in lonely silence. Ivy was glad that her return home hadn't been like it had during that nightmare she had that caused her to spill her guts about her fears to Nightmare. This version was much better; her parents still loved her, her best friend was her usual teasing self, and Ivy had just been in a coma for two months. Not gone for four years.

Ivy stared at the white tiled ceiling, thinking. Was it possible that she really had conjured her whole escapade into Wonderland during her coma? Or had her subconsciousness somehow actually traveled to Wonderland, and Ivy really had turned into someone with a role? Ivy closed her eyes and sank into the stiff mattress of the hospital bed. She felt so tired. All she wanted to do was sleep and sleep and sleep. Maybe if she did, Ivy would manage to find a way back into Wonderland, and she could see how everybody was dealing with Alice's reappearance. Ivy hoped that everything was going all right. She also hoped that Nightmare wouldn't fall for Alice now that Ivy was gone-after all, the dream demon had technically been created to love Alice, so it would make sense if his clock began to tick the other way for her.

"Whatever happens there, I just hope it's good." Ivy whispered to herself. "I hope that no one like Creed pops up, I hope that Alice ultimately picks a guy and sticks with him, and I hope Nightmare gets over his fear of hospitals so he can finally quit getting sick all the time."

With a smile at that last thought, Ivy closed her eyes and let her float away into the familiar world of dreams, hoping that she would perhaps find herself in Nightmare's company once again.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

"Ivy…it's time to wake up now. Haven't you slept enough during these past couple of months?"

Ivy huddled deeper into the darkness of her dream. That's all it was-a never ending void of shadows in which silence reigned supreme. There was no Nightmare, no Wonderland, no…nothing. Ivy had been simply floating in the black vortex as soon as she had fallen asleep, and she didn't want to wake up. Not just yet. If she stayed asleep a little longer, then maybe…just maybe…Nightmare would appear. Ivy knew he wouldn't have lied about visiting her in her dreams. He would never do that. Nightmare was probably just busy, that was all.

"Seriously, you need to open your eyes."

Ivy curled into a tighter ball. "Leave me alone," She said into the darkness. Her voice echoed back and surrounded her like a blanket. "I'm waiting for Nightmare. If I wake up, I can't see him. He's a dream demon, you know. I can only see him in dreams now that I'm no longer in Wonderland."

"Well, it's good to know that you're faithful to your…Nightmare."

Ivy didn't answer at first. She just wanted the voice to shut up, go away, and leave her alone. But when the voice started to tell her to wake up again, she said, "I'll always be faithful to Nightmare. Even if I only met him in a dream put together by my sleeping mind, I'll never love anyone else. He's the one for me. I know it." Ivy opened her eyes and peered out into the darkness, hoping to see the familiar face of her sexy dream demon pirate man. "Now just go away!"

"See, Gray? This is why I DESPISE hospitals. They give you weird drugs that make you go all loopy, AND they stick needles in your arms and keep them in. They're keeping Ivy from realizing who we are! Can't I just rip that out of her arm?"

"Lord Nightmare, I give you kudos for managing to pull yourself together and come to the hospital, but you need to stay calm. That needle is what's sustaining Ivy's life on this side right now, so you need to leave it in."

"But GRAY…"

_I know those voices. I know them. I know them! They're my precious friends'…those voices belong to Nightmare and Gray! Nightmare kept his promise-he came! But why is Gray here too…? Actually, I don't care. I'm happy either way. _Suddenly the darkness around Ivy began to vanish, and her eyes shot open once more. Only this time, they weren't met with pure black or pure white.

They were met with a single violet orb that shone with a million things Ivy could and could not identify.

"About time you woke up!" A man in a white doctor's coat and long silver hair that framed his handsome pale face exclaimed. An eye patch obscured one of his eyes. The man behind him had yellow-gold eyes and a black lizard tattoo on his neck. He also wore a white doctor's coat and had greenish-black hair.

Ivy stared at both of them in shock. "N-nightmare? Gray?" Ignoring the heaviness that wanted to weigh down her body, Ivy sat up and gaped at the Clover residents. Gray was standing back from her bed a bit, but Nightmare was leaning right over it boldly. Ivy stretched her hand out and lightly touched Nightmare's cheek. "You're real," She whispered when her fingers made contact with his skin. "You have to be! Unless I'm dreaming again, you guys are really here!"

Nightmare gave an uneasy grin and shifted his position so that he was sitting on Ivy's bed. "You're not dreaming. I should know, I rule over dreams, remember?""After you disappeared, Lord Nightmare and Alice returned to Creed's castle with the news of your victory," Gray began to explain. "All of Wonderland knows what you did for us, Ivy. Vivaldi has decided to hold another ball in honor of Creed's defeat. She sent us here to your world so we could invite you. Since Lord Nightmare has the ability to connect this world with Wonderland, it wasn't too difficult."

"Uh…I'm kinda bedridden for a bit, in case you haven't noticed." Ivy deadpanned, gesturing to the bandages covering her entire body. "Apparently a tree landed on me. So…was my body here in my world, and my mind just in Wonderland?"

Nightmare nodded. "Yes. When I brought you to Wonderland, your corporeal body stayed behind here. Basically your spirit and mind came with me, and created a body for your soul to reside in during your stay in Wonderland. I didn't expect you to get hurt though," He added guiltily. "I'll have to make that up to you later." The way Nightmare said that last sentence, Ivy had a pretty good feeling by what he meant.

"So…technically, I really was dreaming." Ivy realized. "It was just a different kind of dream."

Nightmare nodded once more. "And when you come back to Wonderland, it will be in another one of those 'different' dreams. But don't worry, you won't be put into another two month coma," Then incubus hastily added when Ivy's expression turned to one of slight worry. "The ball is only for one night."

"Lord Nightmare overcame his fear of hospitals to find you, Ivy." Gray said, giving his boss a small proud grin. "Well…I wouldn't say he's completely cured of his phobia. I don't think Lord Nightmare would be able to sit through a checkup without running out screaming."

"Shut up, Gray!" Nightmare snapped. "I've said it before, I'll say it again: hospitals are damned EVIL. Look at how they're treating Ivy, hooking her up to all sorts of deathtrap-like machines and making her stay in a hard bed and making her wear a stupid hospital gown…it's pure immorality that runs these places, I tell you!"

Ivy laughed and laid a hand on Nightmare's arm. "I'm sure I'll survive, Nightmare. But thanks for your concern, and thanks for braving this wicked place in order to save me." The dream demon grinned happily at Ivy's praise. "When's the ball going to be?"

"Well, in your time, it's tonight." Nightmare replied. "And you won't have to worry about finding a dress or anything like that-when you return to Wonderland, everything will be taken care of. I'm sure Julius can get you a dress; he seems to have good taste in that kind of stuff, doesn't he Gray?" Nightmare looked to his subordinate for agreement.

Gray's face got steely and he muttered, "I don't like that damned workaholic clockmaker. You know that."

"You're just jealous of his pretty hair and the fact that Alice lives with him." Nightmare teased knowingly.

Gray went red in the face and said viciously, "I am not, Lord Nightmare! I just hate the fact that he and that Knight of Hearts are so buddy-buddy!"

Nightmare and Ivy looked at each other and shook their heads sadly. "Nope. It's definitely the hair thing." They both said in perfect synchronization, as if they were reading each other's minds. Actually, it was a pretty good guess that they were.

Gray smacked his forehead. "Ugh…I honestly wonder sometimes how I got myself into this position…"

"That's what she said." Ivy sang, grinning.

"Well, Gray, I can give you the whole story of how you ended up here if you want." Nightmare took a deep breath and said so fast that neither Ivy nor Gray could really understand, "You were supposed to assassinate me but then you didn't and you became my employee and you like to make me do actual work and you're always mean to me and you're jealous of Julius's sexy hair and now you are standing here with me because of that."

"…the only part I really heard was Gray being jealous of Julius's sexy hair, and that's why he's your employee." Ivy blinked.

Gray just glared at his boss and said, "Lord Nightmare, we really should be getting back to Wonderland. If the actual doctors come in here and see us, it could pose a bit of a problem for Ivy." He looked outside the door to Ivy's hospital room to check if anyone was coming. "In fact, I can see her real doctor talking to a nurse. He's probably on his way to check on her."

Nightmare's already pale face blanched a bit. "Y-yeah, I suppose we should go back." Nightmare leaned over and kissed Ivy very delicately on the lips. "Go back to sleep, Ivy. When you wake up, you'll be in Wonderland again. I promise that this time, the only thing you have to do is have good time. No more finding lost Outsiders or having to kill egotistical psychopaths."

"That's good to hear." Ivy smiled softly. "I've had more than my fill of that kind of crap."

"The doctor is coming this way," Gray reported.

"All right, all right." Nightmare brushed a strand of hair from Ivy's eyes. "Sweet dreams until the ball, Ivy. I'll be waiting patiently." He lowered his voice and whispered, "And maybe you and I can play doctor sometime when you get out of this place of pain and suffering." Nightmare's eye glittered mischievously, and Ivy felt her face heat up at his sexy suggestion. The dream demon laughed and stepped back, joining Gray at the door. "See you in no time at all!"

And then just like that, both the Lizard and the Caterpillar disappeared.

Ivy smiled and settled back into her pillows, still blushing at what Nightmare had said about playing "doctor." She closed her eyes just as the authentic doctor walked in. The doctor started talking to who Ivy assumed was his assistants, and she heard a bunch of moving around. Ivy sighed and soon fell asleep the rhythmic noises of the hospital, eager to make her way into Wonderland once again.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX**

As soon as Ivy closed her eyes, she found herself falling down a dark rabbit hole like she had on her previous visit. This time she knew what to do, however, so she simply willed herself to stop falling instead of freaking out as she had the first time. Ivy landed on a flat surface and the dark hole immediately disappeared from around her. Her surroundings then changed to what she recognized as the interior of the Clock Tower. Ivy turned around to see Julius and Alice sitting at the table drinking coffee, and Nightmare and Gray were nowhere to be found. Julius looked up from his clocks and spat out his coffee when he realized that a girl had just materialized out of nowhere. Alice looked up too, only her reaction was calmer; she simply blinked and then smiled happily.

"Hey guys! How are you?" Ivy waved.

Alice leapt up and ran over. "So Nightmare and Gray found you all right?" She asked.

Ivy nodded. "Yep! When they said Vivaldi was throwing a ball in my honor pretty much, how could I refuse?" She grinned and waved to Julius, who looked dour as ever. She suspected it was because of the ball and the fact that he was most likely required to attend. _Oh, Julius. How will we ever get you over your fear of people?_ Ivy shook her head sadly but regained a cheerful tone and said, "So Julius…how's that sexy hair of yours?"

Julius went pale and he stammered, "W-what?" He dropped the clock he was fixing on the table and just stared at Ivy with the best "WTF?" face she had ever seen.

"Oh, just a little inside joke~!" Ivy giggled. Now that she was back in Wonderland (even though it was only for a night) she felt as if all her burdens had floated away. Sobering, Ivy looked at Alice and said, "I thought Nightmare and Gray would have been here waiting for me. They did leave for Wonderland first."

As soon as the words left Ivy's mouth, the door to Julius's residence slammed open and in stomped Gray and Nightmare, both dressed handsomely in black elegant suits. Nightmare, as always, had his cloak over his face to hide it from the sun. "Aha! See Gray, I told you Ivy would appear here first rather than at the Tower of Clover! It's because Alice is here, I bet." Nightmare pointed to his subordinate, who was glaring at Julius quite angrily. The sentiment was equally returned. The dream demon sauntered over and laced an arm around Ivy's shoulders. Leaning into her ear, Nightmare whispered, "Uh, Ivy? You DO know that you're wearing nothing but a hospital gown that opens up at the back…right?"

"…That might explain the draft." Ivy blinked, then slowly backed against a wall. Smiling to hide her embarrassment, she asked, "Can someone please get me a dress for the ball or something?"

"Chop, chop, Julius! Aren't you supposed to be Ivy and Alice's seamstress?" Nightmare teased. "Hey…where's YOUR outfit for the ball?" He peered at Julius's every-day work clothes incredulously. "You can't honestly expect me to believe you're going in THAT. And," Nightmare added when the clock maker opened his mouth to protest, "Don't even say that you're not going, because I don't care how much you despise crowds. I hate being outside of my tower or the dream realm, and I managed to haul my ass all over Wonderland even though I got sick all the time."

Julius looked like he wanted to argue, but he simply sighed and smacked his forehead to the table. "I'll get their dresses in order," He muttered, getting out of his chair and clapping his hands.

All at once clocks surrounded Ivy and cloaked her in some sort of bright light. When it dimmed, she looked down to find herself dressed for the ball. Ivy was wearing a violet punkish dress with ruffles at the bottom made of black lace. The back was corset-like in the fact that it was tied together. The dress was like a tank top, so it had no sleeves really. Black Gothic boots adorned Ivy's feet and her long black hair was down in a messy bun that had a few tendrils of hair drifting in her face. Ivy looked at Alice, and she was wearing a pale blue dress that looked as if it belonged in 19th-century London. Her hair was down and flowed around her elegantly, and she was wearing white heels. "Why am I the only one who looks like she belongs at a hard-rock concert?" Ivy asked in a deadpan sort of manner after looking at Julius's outfit, which was a suit similar to Nightmare and Gray's.

"Because that's what you wanted in your mind," Julius explained. "Now let's get on with this ball. I have a lot of work to catch up on."

"Hey Alice, do you have a date for the ball?" Ivy asked quietly when the group exited the Clock Tower and began to make their way to Heart Castle. Gray was staying far away from Julius, who was walking right next to Nightmare(who was wearing his cloak to hide his skin from the sun as always). Ivy couldn't help but giggle at Gray's scary face.

Alice blushed and answered in a quiet tone, "Um…actually, I do. You see, after you left Wonderland, I decided to go back home to see my sister." Ivy looked up sharply at that, but didn't say anything. "But before I could, Blood found me and brought me back to Wonderland. Turns out, I…like him more than I thought I would. And don't you dare laugh, Ivy, or else I'll throw a book in your face!" Alice snapped as Ivy began to snort in amusement.

"Sorry, sorry, I just never imagined you and Blood Dupre would be the ones to hook up," Ivy laughed. "I always thought it would be you and Julius. He DOES have the sexy hair."

"I'm still going to live with Julius because he makes me feel like I'm at home the most," Alice muttered. "And for you information, Blood does to have sexy hair."

"Ohoho! So you've ran your delicate little fingers through it then, have you?" Ivy teased, knowing that would get a reaction out of Alice.

She didn't blame Alice when the fellow Outsider girl stepped on Ivy's shoes and tripped her, her face a bright red and her teal eyes swirling with embarrassed rage.

When the group finally reached Heart Castle, the guards led them inside quickly. An elegant tune was drifting from the corner where an orchestra played, and Ivy noticed Gowland standing by them looking extremely envious. There were so many people in the castle that Ivy herself almost felt claustrophobic-she was felt bad for Julius, who probably had the feeling ten times worse than her. Nightmare also looked a bit uncomfortable, but when Ivy took his hand, he smiled tentatively and thought to her, **I'll be all right. At least it's not unbearably hot or cold in here.**

Alice immediately spotted Blood and looked at Ivy uncertainly. Ivy nodded and said, "Alice, go and makeout with your mafia boyfriend. I'll makeout with my dream demon one." Alice rolled her eyes and made her way to the Mafioso, who looked like a womanizer in his white suit. Elliot and the Bloody Twins were crowded around him, all three eating what looked like cake. Alice looked happy as she stood there talking with her friends (and lover…well, maybe not THAT far yet. But it was going to happen sooner or later) and Ivy was glad that she had finally chosen a guy.

"I'm going to go find Ace and make sure he's not getting into any unnecessary trouble," Julius mumbled, stalking off quickly. Gray's mood instantly became darker and he muttered something about finding an unoccupied room in the castle to smoke, and ran off as well. Nightmare looked a bit depressed that the two enemies had gone off in separate directions; Ivy assumed he had wanted to make more jokes revolving around Gray's jealousy of Julius's sexy hair.

Ivy noticed a familiar shock of red hair in the crowd and she stared in shock as Joker danced in a classy manner with some faceless woman. He was still wearing his circus attire, but no one seemed to mind. When Ivy let her eyes wander farther away, she saw a young boy with furry mouse ears and reddish-orange hair being chased by Boris. Both were wearing dashing suits that made them look sophisticated. Ivy recognized the mouse boy as Pierce Villiers, the one with the role of Dormouse. "Wow, Vivaldi sure invited all of Wonderland, didn't she?" Ivy said to Nightmare as they blended in with the crowd of faceless and Role Holders alike.

"Pretty much," Nightmare agreed, wrapping an arm around Ivy and using the other to hold her hand as he led her into a waltz. "You should go see her soon. I bet she'd enjoy that. Actually, I'm surprised she hasn't announced your arrival yet-"

Before the incubus could finish his sentence, however, the lights dimmed inside and the day turned to a black night outside. The music stopped playing, and Ivy and Nightmare looked up to see Vivaldi, the Queen of Hearts, standing at her throne with her scepter raised in the air. Peter stood a ways behind her, looking attentive and slightly dangerous. "Attention citizens of Wonderland," Vivaldi's voice boomed sonorously through the ballroom, and she looked amazing as ever in a dress of crimson red. "It has come to our attention that the guest of honor has arrived. Please be courteous to her, as she was the Outsider girl who managed to save all of Wonderland. You may go on with the festivities now." Vivaldi lowered her scepter and the lights switched back on, cuing the dancing to resume.

"Oh, I guess I spoke too soon," Nightmare grinned at Ivy as many faceless people crowded around the couple.

Ivy glared at the silver-haired dream demon, but managed to smile timidly at all the people that were surrounding her. "You're the one who saved us?" Someone she couldn't see asked. "Thank you, miss! You'll always be welcomed in Wonderland. Thank you so much!" Many others took up the call and began to thank Ivy, shaking her hand and congratulating her as well. Ivy wasn't really used to all the publicity-she paled and simply stood at Nightmare's side and let them all jostle her and other things. Ivy let her eyes wander and through the crowd she saw Ace guzzling a glass of wine, laughing at the annoyed look on Julius's face. She saw Peter glaring at Blood and Alice as they swept across the dance floor. She saw (well, heard really) Gowland attempting to play his violin along with the palace's orchestra. She saw Boris and Pierce still chasing each other around the ballroom. She saw Elliot raiding the desserts table, Dee and Dum not far behind. She saw Gray standing on the balcony alone smoking and staring into the night. She saw Joker surveying the woman on the dance floor with a peculiar gaze. She saw Vivaldi looked bored and like she wanted to chop off some heads.

Ivy looked at Nightmare and thought, _I'm going to go talk to Alice about some things. I'll be right back._

**All right,** Nightmare replied, looking a tad worried. **Is anything wrong? You can't just bail out on your own party, you know. **His tone was flirtatious and teasing.

_I said I'll be back, Nightmare! I just…can't really deal with all the attention I'm getting. I feel awkward. Cover for me, will you?_ Without waiting for Nightmare's consent, Ivy pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered around her and walked up to Alice. She poked her fellow Outsider on the arm and said, "Can I talk to you, Alice? Just for a little bit, I promise it won't be too long."

Alice nodded and stepped away from Blood, but not before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Ivy and Alice made their way through the hordes of people and out into the hallway, where they were alone save for a few potted plants. Alice leaned against the wall and asked, "What's wrong, Ivy?"

"I just want to know how you felt when you were the Alice of Perfection," Ivy replied. "Did you…were you comprehensive of what you were doing?"

Alice was silent for a moment. Then: "In a way, yes. When the other Alices souls merged with my own, my mind became…not my own, almost. I knew what was happening around me, and I knew that I could stop it if I wanted to." Alice looked up at the ceiling with an unfathomable gaze in her aquamarine eyes. "But I didn't want to. I knew that I somehow held the power to destroy worlds in the palms of my hands; I merely wanted to do what Creed told me to do. Because he was my…master…"

"I'm sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable," Ivy apologized. "I just wondered."

"It's okay. I understand." Alice smiled fondly at Ivy. "You know, even though we're the same age, I feel like your older sister for some reason. Being in Creed's presence for so long made me something more than I already am. I can't explain it really, but I feel the need to be like a sister figure towards you." Alice's smile turned sad. "Because I don't know when I'll be able to see MY older sister…or if I ever will. I feel like I need to give more to the people around me; from now on, I'll do the best I can in making everyone happy."

"They're already happy, Alice." Ivy said, her blue-green eyes glittering knowingly. "As long as you're in Wonderland, everyone in this current Game will be happy. You're they're reason for existence. I'm just the lucky girl who managed to get pulled into this mess as well!" Ivy threw her head back and laughed, instantly dispelling the somewhat heavy mood that had eased its way between the two Outsiders. Ivy grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her towards the ballroom. "Come on, let's go finish this dance. I can't be here all night; I've got a life to start living back home!"

"Yes…you're absolutely right." Alice nodded and picked up her pace. "I'll do my part here in Wonderland. You, on the other hand, have to promise me that you'll live your life to the fullest back in our world. Understand?"

"I promise, Alice. I promise." Ivy flashed a cheeky grin at the brown haired girl. "So that means you gotta promise that when you and blood have your kid, you name her after me!"

"IVY!"

"Haha, couldn't resist~!" Ivy sang. She let go of Alice's hand ran off, laughing as she heard the other girl's angry complaints over the din and roar of the ball. Ivy found Nightmare standing against the wall near the balcony, looking up at the moon with a wistful look on his face. "I'm back," Ivy tugged on Nightmare's sleeve. "Dance with me some more, please. I want to make sure I get as much out of tonight as possible."Nightmare's face lit up and he instantly wrapped his arms around Ivy's waist in a dancing position. "My thoughts exactly," The dream demon whispered into her ear as the couple spun and twirled their way back onto the dance floor. "And then the next time that you're in Wonderland…" Nightmare lightly nibbled on Ivy's neck, causing her to blush at her bold display of affection. "We can get to playing that game of 'doctor' you promised me."

Ivy didn't answer; she simply went bright red and shoved her face against Nightmare's chest, feeling the rumbling in his chest as the incubus at her reaction. _Thank you, Nightmare. _Ivy whispered softly into her mind as she listened to the harmonious ticking of his clock, its sound more beautiful than the melody wafting through the air as the pair danced. _Thank you so much for choosing me to come to Wonderland. Thank you._

**You're welcome, Ivy. Although, it was Wonderland really that chose you. I was simply the errand boy sent to fetch you.** Nightmare lifted Ivy's chin up so that she could see the amusement dancing in his violet eye and kissed her in front of everyone. **But I can't say I'll complain about that.**

_You and me both,_ Ivy smiled through the kiss, and leaned against Nightmare, sighing. She was going to look forward to her dreams every night from now on. She didn't care if that when they ended, reality would be there to stare at her defiantly in the face. She didn't care if when they ended, her wonderful wonder world would be gone for a slight period of time. Because in a way, dreams never truly did end.

They just went missing for awhile until someone found them again.

***sobbing uncontrollably* NOOOOOOO. I DON'T WANT TO END IT. I LOVE IVY AND NIGHTMARE. …sniff…**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has supported this story. I couldn't have done it without you. I may possibly do a sequel to Missing Dreams, but I may not. It depends on how much time I'll have when school starts. However, there will probably be another HnKnA fic coming from this profile-you might want to stay tuned for that.**

**Once again, thank you. You don't know how much your encouragement means to me. I love you all, and I hope that this story grew on you as much as it did me. (For crap's sake, I'm so attached to it, I'm crying while writing this!)**

**Please don't ever stop dreaming. Because when you're in a dream…that is when you're truly alive.**

**Goodbye for now! ^_^**


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